QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 6:10 am PST (14:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Soledad, CA, at 2:21 am PDT on 27 June 2020 (09:21 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 22km NNW of Lopez Point, CA

54 km (34 mi) S of Salinas, CA · 122 km (76 mi) S of San Jose, CA

2:21 am PDT, Jun 27, 2020 · · 11 km deep · released about 94 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 33 kmSan Benito County 70 kmSanta Cruz County 95 kmSanta Clara County 113 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
2:21 am PDT on 27 June 2020 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) southwest of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 33 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Gregorio fault, 4 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 2325 days ago

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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 40 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 94 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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:

  1. 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 42 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 33 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 38 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 14 km NW of Big Sur, California · 28 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 36.2022, -121.6762. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 33 km (20 mi) E earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 70 km (43 mi) NE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA 95 km (59 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara County, CA 113 km (70 mi) N earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Merced County, CA 139 km (87 mi) NE earthquakes near Merced County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 143 km (89 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. 1.7 18km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  2. 2.6 19km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  3. 1.8 20km E of Point Sur, CA
  4. 2.4 2km E of Lopez Point, CA
  5. 1.7 3km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
  6. 2.3 3km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
  7. 3.0 3km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
  8. 3.5 2km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
  9. 3.0 3km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
  10. 1.8 16km NNW of Lopez Point, CA
  11. 1.7 9km SSW of Carmel By The Sea, CA
  12. 1.8 7km SSW of Gonzales, CA
  13. 1.6 9km NNE of Gonzales, CA
  14. 1.8 14km N of Point Sur, CA
  15. 1.6 17km N of Lopez Point, 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.