Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7md
Earthquake near Mariposa, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mariposa in the 24 hours to 3:40 pm PST (23:40 UTC). The last one was M 5.7, 222 km (138 mi) NNE, at 6:29 pm PDT on 13 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6,515 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mariposa
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Mariposa, CA, at 4:46 am PDT on 21 March 2020 (11:46 UTC), 17 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18km SSW of Mariposa, CA
63 km (39 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA · 40 km (25 mi) N of Madera, CA
- When
- 4:46 am PDT on 21 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Mariposa, CA · earthquakes near Mariposa
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (md)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Madera County, 27 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2350 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mariposa, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Mariposa, 18 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.
Likely felt in: Mariposa 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 37.3242, -120.0160. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 27 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Merced County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Fresno County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 18km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.1 19km E of Le Grand, CA
- 2.1 21km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.2 5km SW of North Fork, CA
- 2.1 18km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 1.9 1km SW of Mariposa, CA
- 1.9 7km NE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 1.6 7km NE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 1.8 6km NNW of Ahwahnee, CA
- 2.0 6km SW of North Fork, CA
- 2.2 21km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.0 6km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 2.4 20km WNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 1.6 14km SW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.1 12km WNW of Midpines, 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.