QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Mariposa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Mariposa in the 24 hours to 6:25 pm PST (02:25 UTC). The last one was M 5.7, 222 km (138 mi) NNE, at 6:29 pm PDT on 13 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6,515 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mariposa

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south of Mariposa, CA, at 3:14 pm PST on 13 December 2019 (23:14 UTC), 18 km deep. 85 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 13km S of Mariposa, CA

67 km (42 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA · 45 km (28 mi) E of Merced, CA

3:14 pm PST, Dec 13, 2019 · · 18 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mariposa County 23 kmMadera County 27 kmMerced County 69 kmTuolumne County 72 kmFresno County 73 kmStanislaus County 93 kmCalaveras County 104 kmMono County 114 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
3:14 pm PST on 13 December 2019 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south of Mariposa, CA · earthquakes near Mariposa
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
85 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Mariposa County, 23 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1954 days ago

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 Mariposa, 13 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: Mariposa 13 km, intensity II · Yosemite Lakes 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 37.3697, -119.9773. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mariposa County, CA 23 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mariposa County
Madera County, CA 27 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Madera County
Merced County, CA 69 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Merced County
Tuolumne County, CA 72 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Fresno County, CA 73 km (46 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fresno County
Stanislaus County, CA 93 km (58 mi) WNW earthquakes near Stanislaus County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 21km ENE of Le Grand, CA
  2. 2.6 14km S of Mariposa, CA
  3. 1.5 1km E of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  4. 1.6 18km S of Bootjack, CA
  5. 1.7 15km S of Bootjack, CA
  6. 1.6 13km WNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  7. 1.6 9km SSE of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  8. 2.0 9km SW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  9. 1.8 12km W of Auberry, CA
  10. 1.6 13km S of Mariposa, CA
  11. 2.2 6km WNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  12. 1.6 19km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  13. 2.3 16km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  14. 2.5 19km SSW of Mariposa, CA
  15. 1.8 2km NNW of Coarsegold, 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.