Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Huron, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Huron in the 24 hours to 5:02 am PST (13:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 10 km (6 mi) SE, at 2:35 am PDT on 16 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Huron
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Huron, CA, at 10:38 pm PST on 13 January 2020 (06:38 UTC), 14 km deep.
USGS: 7km SSE of Huron, CA
75 km (46 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 42 km (26 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 10:38 pm PST on 13 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Huron, CA · earthquakes near Huron
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 24 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 5 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 2490 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Huron, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Huron, 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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Huron, 7 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Avenal, Kettleman City, Lemoore Station, Stratford, Coalinga.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 5,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 24 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 42 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 46 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 8 km W 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 36.1462, -120.0635. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 24 km (15 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| San Benito County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Tulare County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5km N of Avenal, CA
- 2.0 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 8km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.7 10km SSW of Huron, CA
- 2.3 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.8 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.8 19km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 6km SW of Huron, CA
- 1.9 10km E of Huron, CA
- 1.9 9km SE of Huron, CA
- 1.7 8km E of Avenal, CA
- 2.4 10km WSW of Huron, CA
- 2.2 10km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.7 9km NE of Coalinga, 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.