QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

11km SSE of Los Banos, CA

· 10 km deep · released about 650 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Merced County 26 kmSan Benito County 47 kmStanislaus County 68 kmSanta Clara County 83 kmMonterey County 93 kmMadera County 97 kmMariposa County 104 kmFresno County 105 kmSanta Cruz County 107 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
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Merced County, 26 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2297 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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.

Where

Epicentre 36.9678, -120.8035. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Merced County, CA 26 km (16 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Merced County
San Benito County, CA 47 km (29 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near San Benito County
Stanislaus County, CA 68 km (43 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Santa Clara County, CA 83 km (52 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Monterey County, CA 93 km (58 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Monterey County
Madera County, CA 97 km (60 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Madera County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 24km SSW of Los Banos, CA
  2. 1.6 8km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 3.1 5km NE of Tres Pinos, CA
  4. 1.7 28km SW of Gustine, CA
  5. 2.0 5km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
  6. 1.8 8km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 1.6 7km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 2.4 26km NNW of New Idria, CA
  9. 1.9 22km W of Los Banos, CA
  10. 1.5 33km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 2.1 22km W of Los Banos, CA
  12. 1.5 25km NE of Hollister, CA
  13. 1.6 28km SW of South Dos Palos, CA
  14. 1.9 11km SSE of Los Banos, CA
  15. 1.6 10km SSE of Los Banos, 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.