QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Salinas, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 3:05 pm PST (23:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 5:38 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salinas

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) east of Salinas, CA, at 1:51 pm PDT on 1 June 2019 (20:51 UTC), 4.7 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA

85 km (53 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 31 km (20 mi) E of Salinas, CA

1:51 pm PDT, Jun 1, 2019 · · 4.7 km deep · released about 260 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 18 kmMonterey County 47 kmSanta Clara County 72 kmSanta Cruz County 75 kmMerced County 77 kmStanislaus County 103 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
1:51 pm PDT on 1 June 2019 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) east of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
4.7 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
San Benito County, 18 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Calaveras fault, 3 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 2719 days ago

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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Salinas, 33 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Hollister 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2017-11-13 — about 870 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 9 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 3 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 21 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 3 km NW 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 36.6628, -121.2828. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 18 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 47 km (29 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County
Santa Clara County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 75 km (47 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Merced County, CA 77 km (48 mi) NE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 103 km (64 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.1 4km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 2.3 13km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 1.6 13km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 1.5 22km SSW of Los Banos, CA
  5. 1.6 6km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 2.0 9km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 1.8 8km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 1.8 10km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  9. 1.5 4km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 1.9 6km S of Gilroy, CA
  11. 2.4 11km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 2.0 4km W of San Juan Bautista, CA
  13. 1.6 9km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  14. 2.0 8km WNW of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.6 16km NNW of Pinnacles, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.