QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 6:02 am PST (14:02 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Soledad, CA, at 1:32 am PDT on 2 July 2019 (08:32 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 17km NNW of Lopez Point, CA

58 km (36 mi) S of Salinas, CA · 127 km (79 mi) S of San Jose, CA

1:32 am PDT, Jul 2, 2019 · · 15 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 30 kmSan Benito County 70 kmSanta Cruz County 100 kmSanta Clara County 118 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
1:32 am PDT on 2 July 2019 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) southwest of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 30 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
San Gregorio 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 2690 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Soledad, 40 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 46 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 45 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 22 km NW of San Simeon, California · 48 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 37 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 38 km NE 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 36.1653, -121.6385. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 30 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 70 km (44 mi) NE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA 100 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara County, CA 118 km (73 mi) N earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 138 km (86 mi) SE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Merced County, CA 141 km (87 mi) NE earthquakes near Merced County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 19km SE of Lopez Point, CA
  2. 1.9 23km NW of San Simeon, CA
  3. 1.6 7km SE of Lopez Point, CA
  4. 1.9 6km SE of Lopez Point, CA
  5. 1.7 25km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  6. 1.7 23km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  7. 1.9 12km ESE of Lopez Point, CA
  8. 1.5 17km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  9. 1.6 14km WNW of Point Sur, CA
  10. 1.6 22km ESE of Point Sur, 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.