Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Avila Beach, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avila Beach in the 24 hours to 4:51 am PST (12:51 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 4 km (2 mi) NNE, at 11:05 pm PDT on 7 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avila Beach
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Avila Beach, CA, at 3:35 pm PDT on 18 March 2019 (22:35 UTC), 7.5 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km NNW of Avila Beach, CA
41 km (25 mi) NW of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 3:35 pm PDT on 18 March 2019 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Avila Beach, CA · earthquakes near Avila Beach
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 7.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 34 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Los Osos fault, 8 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2794 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avila Beach, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Avila Beach, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Avila Beach, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Los Osos 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 5 km SSW of Nipomo, California · 32 km SE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 35.2002, -120.7478. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Monterey County, CA | 126 km (79 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Kings County, CA | 128 km (80 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 11km WNW of Templeton, CA
- 2.9 10km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.8 11km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.6 8km W of San Luis Obispo, CA
- 1.5 8km ESE of San Luis Obispo, CA
- 1.8 11km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.5 6km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.6 13km ENE of Cambria, CA
- 1.7 5km W of Paso Robles, CA
- 1.8 10km WSW of Templeton, CA
- 2.1 0km NW of Pismo Beach, CA
- 1.7 7km E of Atascadero, CA
- 2.4 1km NNW of Pismo Beach, CA
- 2.3 13km SW of Avila Beach, CA
- 2.1 5km SSW of Orcutt, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.