QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 2:51 am PST (10:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) west of Coalinga, CA, at 4:27 pm PDT on 26 July 2019 (23:27 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 17km NE of San Ardo, CA

4:27 pm PDT, Jul 26, 2019 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 51 kmSan Benito County 62 kmKings County 85 kmSan Luis Obispo County 86 kmMerced County 119 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
4:27 pm PDT on 26 July 2019 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) west of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 51 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 4 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 2660 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 36 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 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 27 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 49 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 20 km N 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 36.1212, -120.7623. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 51 km (32 mi) WNW earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 62 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Kings County, CA 85 km (53 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 86 km (54 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Merced County, CA 119 km (74 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Fresno County, CA 122 km (76 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 13km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 1.7 22km NW of Parkfield, CA
  3. 1.5 12km W of Huron, CA
  4. 2.2 13km WNW of Huron, CA
  5. 2.1 11km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 2.0 12km NW of Parkfield, CA
  7. 2.0 14km NNE of Coalinga, CA
  8. 1.6 11km NW of Avenal, CA
  9. 2.4 12km WNW of Avenal, CA
  10. 2.2 12km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 3.1 5km NW of Parkfield, CA
  12. 1.7 9km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  13. 2.4 12km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
  14. 1.5 23km E of San Ardo, CA
  15. 1.6 15km NW of Parkfield, 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.