Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.7mw
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 3:48 pm PST (23:48 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 4.7 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) east of Salinas, CA, at 12:42 pm PDT on 15 October 2019 (19:42 UTC), 10 km deep. 6,261 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 17km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
87 km (54 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA · 32 km (20 mi) E of Salinas, CA
- When
- 12:42 pm PDT on 15 October 2019 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) east of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 4.7 (mw)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6,261 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity VII (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 17 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 1701 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salinas, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Salinas, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 160 km (99 mi) from the epicentre. In Salinas, 34 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: Soledad 25 km, intensity IV · Hollister 26 km, intensity IV · Salinas 34 km, intensity III · Greenfield 36 km, intensity III · Prunedale 38 km, intensity III · Gilroy 48 km, intensity III · King City 50 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 970× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 43× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.7 about 180 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 370× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 4.6 on 2017-11-13.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 11 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 3 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 23 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 5 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California · 18 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 36.6455, -121.2740. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 17 km (11 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Merced County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 15km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 22km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 1.6 23km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 2.8 23km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 2.1 8km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.8 23km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 3.8 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 15km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.1 15km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.4 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.3 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 16km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, 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.