Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Mendota, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mendota in the 24 hours to 1:39 pm PST (21:39 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 74 km (46 mi) WSW, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 34 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mendota
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 33 km (20 mi) southwest of Mendota, CA, at 12:33 am PDT on 15 March 2020 (07:33 UTC), 7.4 km deep.
USGS: 13km NE of New Idria, CA
- When
- 12:33 am PDT on 15 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 33 km (20 mi) southwest of Mendota, CA · earthquakes near Mendota
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 7.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 46 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 7 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 2432 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mendota, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mendota, 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Mendota, 33 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 40 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 2 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 29 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 41 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NE of Coalinga, California · 43 km SE 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 36.5110, -120.5882. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | N | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Kings County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Madera County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madera 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.
- 2.3 12km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 22km NNE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.7 5km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 8km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 22km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.6 21km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.4 23km WSW of New Idria, CA
- 2.5 18km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 22km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.8 8km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 7km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 7km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 5km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.8 8km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 2.0 21km SE of Pinnacles, 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.