Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 7:45 am PST (15:45 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 5:38 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salinas
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) south of Salinas, CA, at 2:42 am PDT on 8 May 2020 (09:42 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 13km ESE of Point Sur, CA
48 km (30 mi) SSW of Salinas, CA · 114 km (71 mi) S of San Jose, CA
- When
- 2:42 am PDT on 8 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) south of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 40 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 2 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 2375 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salinas, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Salinas, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Salinas, 46 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: Carmel Valley Village.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 27 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.1 14 km NW of Big Sur, California · 17 km NW 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 36.2690, -121.7553. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 138 km (86 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 153 km (95 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
17 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 16km NNW of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.7 9km SSW of Carmel By The Sea, CA
- 1.8 7km SSW of Gonzales, CA
- 1.6 9km NNE of Gonzales, CA
- 1.8 14km N of Point Sur, CA
- 1.6 17km N of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.6 14km SE of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.3 22km NNW of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.3 19km ESE of Point Sur, CA
- 2.2 22km ESE of Point Sur, CA
- 2.0 11km N of Point Sur, CA
- 1.8 7km SSW of Gonzales, CA
- 1.5 24km N of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.8 22km NNW of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.7 6km S of Gonzales, 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.