Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Coalinga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 3:54 am PST (11:54 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) east of Coalinga, CA, at 6:12 am PDT on 30 March 2020 (13:12 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 7km E of Coalinga, CA
83 km (51 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 59 km (37 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 6:12 am PDT on 30 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) east of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 43 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 11 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 2417 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Coalinga, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Coalinga, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 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: Huron, Avenal.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 7,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 10 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 45 km S of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 26 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 48 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km SSW 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 36.1500, -120.2788. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 43 km (26 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 123 km (76 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 11km NNE of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 12km S of Stratford, CA
- 2.2 14km ENE of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.2 14km S of Stratford, CA
- 1.9 13km S of Stratford, CA
- 2.7 17km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 23km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.0 10km WSW of Huron, CA
- 2.3 17km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.6 27km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.1 17km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 6km SSE of Parkfield, CA
- 2.2 6km SSE of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 3km ESE of Kettleman City, 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.