Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6mw
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 4:36 am PST (12:36 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 3.6 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) east of Salinas, CA, at 7:54 am PDT on 17 October 2019 (14:54 UTC), 9.6 km deep. 139 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16km NW of Pinnacles, CA
88 km (55 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 34 km (21 mi) E of Salinas, CA
- When
- 7:54 am PDT on 17 October 2019 ()
- Where
- 36 km (22 mi) east of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (mw)
- Depth
- 9.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 139 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 16 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 2 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 2505 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 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 66 km (41 mi) from the epicentre. In Salinas, 36 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: Soledad 25 km, intensity III · Hollister 27 km, intensity II · Greenfield 35 km, intensity II · Salinas 36 km, intensity II · Prunedale 40 km, intensity II · King City 49 km, intensity II · Gilroy 49 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 3.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 51,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 6.9× 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 53 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 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 · 4 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 25 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 6 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California · 19 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 36.6390, -121.2578. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 16 km (10 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz 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
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 2km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 2.3 4km W of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 18km E of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 11km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.1 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 23km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 2.2 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 6km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.2 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.4 9km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 19km ENE 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
- 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.