Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Cambria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cambria in the 24 hours to 8:58 am PST (16:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 18 km (11 mi) NNE, at 5:04 pm PDT on 21 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cambria
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north of Cambria, CA, at 4:48 am PDT on 20 August 2020 (11:48 UTC), 7.6 km deep.
USGS: 11km NE of San Simeon, CA
- When
- 4:48 am PDT on 20 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) north of Cambria, CA · earthquakes near Cambria
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 7.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 63 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Simeon fault, 11 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 2268 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cambria, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cambria, 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Cambria, 16 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lake Nacimiento.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 1 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 21 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 25 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 30 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 35.7053, -121.0967. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| San Benito County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 122 km (76 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.7 10km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.6 8km WSW of Atascadero, CA
- 1.6 13km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.0 3km SSE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.8 10km NE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.6 2km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.0 20km N of San Simeon, CA
- 2.7 13km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.7 9km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.7 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.6 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 2.2 5km SSW of San Ardo, CA
- 2.5 15km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.5 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 2.6 8km NNE of Cayucos, 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.