Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Sonora, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Sonora in the 24 hours to 12:16 am PST (08:16 UTC). The last one was M 5.2, 187 km (116 mi) NE, at 1:17 am PDT on 1 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,875 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sonora
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Sonora, CA, at 3:41 am PST on 27 January 2020 (11:41 UTC), 29 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18km SE of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
58 km (36 mi) NE of Merced, CA · 107 km (66 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA
- When
- 3:41 am PST on 27 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Sonora, CA · earthquakes near Sonora
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 29 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Mariposa County, 21 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 703 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sonora, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Sonora, 40 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: Midpines, Mariposa.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 37.7168, -120.0760. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariposa County, CA | 21 km (13 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Madera County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Calaveras County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Calaveras County |
| Merced County, CA | 81 km (51 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 13km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.3 6km S of Vallecito, CA
- 2.4 21km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.1 19km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.0 17km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.5 18km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.4 21km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.5 21km ENE of Le Grand, CA
- 1.5 14km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.1 11km E of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
- 1.8 12km N of Yosemite Village, CA
- 1.7 12km S of Bootjack, CA
- 1.9 18km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.1 21km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.1 18km SSW of Mariposa, 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.