Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 4:36 am PST (12:36 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) south-southeast of Avenal, CA, at 11:52 am PST on 7 January 2020 (19:52 UTC), 3.5 km deep.
USGS: 36km E of Cholame, CA
86 km (53 mi) WNW of Bakersfield, CA · 58 km (36 mi) W of Delano, CA
- When
- 11:52 am PST on 7 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) south-southeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 3.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 45 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 23 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 2493 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Avenal, 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 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 Avenal, 42 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lost Hills.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 95,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 40 km WNW 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 35.6752, -119.9010. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | N | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kern County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| San Benito County, CA | 149 km (93 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
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 13km SW of Alpaugh, CA
- 2.0 7km WSW of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.3 5km SSE of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 16km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.7 16km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 12km S of Stratford, CA
- 2.2 14km ENE of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.2 14km S of Stratford, CA
- 1.9 13km S of Stratford, CA
- 2.6 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 1.6 6km SSE of Parkfield, CA
- 2.2 6km SSE of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 3km ESE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.9 3km SE 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.