Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 12:53 am PST (08:53 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 7 km (4 mi) NW, at 12:34 am PDT on 18 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avenal
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west of Avenal, CA, at 4:51 pm PDT on 28 July 2019 (23:51 UTC), 20 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km W of Avenal, CA
95 km (59 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA
- When
- 4:51 pm PDT on 28 July 2019 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) west of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- 17 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Kings County, 35 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 15 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 2589 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
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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 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 6 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: Avenal 6 km, intensity II · Kettleman City 21 km, intensity II · Coalinga 22 km, intensity II · Huron 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 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 290,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.2× more
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 4.0 on 2018-11-27 — about 26 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 28 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 28 km S of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 27 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 25 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 45 km WSW 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 35.9970, -120.1968. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Monterey County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito 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.
- 1.9 10km SW of Stratford, CA
- 2.0 19km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.1 23km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 7km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.9 5km ESE of Huron, CA
- 1.7 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 5km ESE of Cholame, CA
- 1.6 11km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 12km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.8 6km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.7 22km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.9 11km NNW of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.5 12km W of Huron, CA
- 2.2 13km WNW of Huron, CA
- 1.8 8km SSW of Kettleman City, 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.