QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Los Banos, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Banos in the 24 hours to 4:38 am PST (12:38 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 36 km (22 mi) WNW, at 9:18 pm PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Los Banos

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) south of Los Banos, CA, at 11:42 am PDT on 19 July 2020 (18:42 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 29km ENE of Pinnacles, CA

11:42 am PDT, Jul 19, 2020 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Banos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 21 kmMerced County 59 kmMonterey County 63 kmSanta Clara County 95 kmStanislaus County 99 kmSanta Cruz County 108 kmFresno County 109 kmMadera County 116 kmKings County 116 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
11:42 am PDT on 19 July 2020 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) south of Los Banos, CA · earthquakes near Los Banos
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 21 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Ortigalita 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 2306 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Banos, 42 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 20,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 31 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 32 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 34 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 38 km W 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 36.6778, -120.8687. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 21 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Benito County
Merced County, CA 59 km (37 mi) NNE earthquakes near Merced County
Monterey County, CA 63 km (39 mi) SW earthquakes near Monterey County
Santa Clara County, CA 95 km (59 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Stanislaus County, CA 99 km (62 mi) N earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Santa Cruz County, CA 108 km (67 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.2 10km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 2.4 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  3. 2.1 9km N of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 1.9 10km SSW of New Idria, CA
  5. 2.1 4km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 2.0 8km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  7. 2.0 6km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  8. 2.8 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  9. 2.7 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  10. 2.3 2km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 2.4 2km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 2.2 8km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  13. 1.8 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  14. 1.6 7km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.9 13km ENE of Hollister, 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.