QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Huron, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Huron in the 24 hours to 5:01 am PST (13:01 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Huron, CA, at 1:58 am PDT on 11 March 2020 (08:58 UTC), 23 km deep.

USGS: 7km ESE of Huron, CA

70 km (43 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 37 km (23 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA

1:58 am PDT, Mar 11, 2020 · · 23 km deep · released about 41 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 23 kmFresno County 72 kmSan Luis Obispo County 96 kmSan Benito County 106 kmTulare County 112 kmMonterey County 116 kmMadera County 117 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
1:58 am PDT on 11 March 2020 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Huron, CA · earthquakes near Huron
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 23 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 9 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 2437 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: Lemoore Station, Stratford, Kettleman City, Avenal, Lemoore.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 41 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 4.0 on 2018-11-27 — about 730 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 47 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 12 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 50 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 24 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 36.1823, -120.0283. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 23 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 96 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
San Benito County, CA 106 km (66 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Tulare County, CA 112 km (70 mi) E earthquakes near Tulare County
Monterey County, CA 116 km (72 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 7km WSW of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 1.8 8km SE of Huron, CA
  3. 1.6 8km NNW of Avenal, CA
  4. 1.8 17km NNW of Coalinga, CA
  5. 1.8 21km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
  6. 1.8 5km NE of Coalinga, CA
  7. 2.3 5km SSE of Parkfield, CA
  8. 1.8 16km S of Kettleman City, CA
  9. 1.7 16km S of Kettleman City, CA
  10. 1.8 12km S of Stratford, CA
  11. 2.2 14km ENE of Kettleman City, CA
  12. 2.2 14km S of Stratford, CA
  13. 1.9 13km S of Stratford, CA
  14. 2.0 10km WSW of Huron, CA
  15. 1.6 6km SSE of Parkfield, 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.