Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Paso Robles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Paso Robles in the 24 hours to 5:46 am PST (13:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 21 km (13 mi) S, at 11:41 pm PDT on 15 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 61 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Paso Robles
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) east-northeast of Paso Robles, CA, at 6:02 am PDT on 31 March 2020 (13:02 UTC), 9.6 km deep.
USGS: 3km N of Cholame, CA
- When
- 6:02 am PDT on 31 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) east-northeast of Paso Robles, CA · earthquakes near Paso Robles
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 9.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 42 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, under 1 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 2415 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Paso Robles, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Paso Robles, 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Paso Robles, 38 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Shandon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 4 km E of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 10 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 35 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 46 km NNE 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 35.7498, -120.2997. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Monterey County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Fresno County, CA | 126 km (79 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
36 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 25km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.3 25km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.7 17km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 10km WSW of Huron, CA
- 2.3 17km NW of Parkfield, 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
- 1.9 3km SE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 6km NNE of Santa Margarita, CA
- 1.8 2km SE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 2km ESE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 19km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 7km SW of Templeton, 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.