Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Templeton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Templeton in the 24 hours to 8:06 am PST (16:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 13 km (8 mi) S, at 6:08 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Templeton
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Templeton, CA, at 12:41 pm PDT on 22 May 2020 (19:41 UTC), 6.8 km deep.
USGS: 7km SW of Templeton, CA
70 km (44 mi) NNW of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 12:41 pm PDT on 22 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Templeton, CA · earthquakes near Templeton
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 6.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 32 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Los Osos fault, 22 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 2358 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Templeton, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Templeton, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Templeton, 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.
Likely felt in: Atascadero 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 12,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 37 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 50 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 39 km W of this epicentre
- 5.1 13km N of San Miguel, CA · 41 km N 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 35.5090, -120.7643. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 32 km (20 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 95 km (59 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Kings County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.6 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.8 6km E of Atascadero, CA
- 2.5 15km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.5 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 2.6 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 2.4 24km SE of Santa Margarita, CA
- 1.9 6km NE of San Luis Obispo, CA
- 2.5 8km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.8 6km W of Santa Margarita, CA
- 2.6 11km NNE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 21km SE of Shandon, CA
- 1.6 2km NNW of Cayucos, CA
- 3.0 5km S of Shandon, CA
- 2.0 23km NNE of Nipomo, 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.