QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near King City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in King City in the 24 hours to 8:58 am PST (16:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 14 km (8 mi) E, at 4:39 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near King City

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) south-southwest of King City, CA, at 7:43 pm PDT on 17 August 2020 (02:43 UTC), 9.8 km deep.

USGS: 24km NNW of San Simeon, CA

99 km (62 mi) SSE of Salinas, CA

7:43 pm PDT, Aug 17, 2020 · · 9.8 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near King City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 45 kmSan Benito County 89 kmSan Luis Obispo County 94 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
7:43 pm PDT on 17 August 2020 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) south-southwest of King City, CA · earthquakes near King City
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 45 km N
Nearest mapped fault
San Gregorio fault, 5 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 2271 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In King City, 46 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 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 26 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 12 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 2 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 35.8317, -121.3320. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 45 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 89 km (56 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Benito County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 94 km (58 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 13km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  2. 2.5 2km SE of San Ardo, CA
  3. 1.9 3km SE of Lopez Point, CA
  4. 1.6 12km ENE of Cambria, CA
  5. 2.9 22km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  6. 3.2 22km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  7. 3.0 22km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  8. 3.7 22km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  9. 1.5 3km E of Lopez Point, CA
  10. 1.9 19km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  11. 1.6 13km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
  12. 2.0 3km SSE of San Ardo, CA
  13. 1.6 2km ENE of San Ardo, CA
  14. 2.0 20km N of San Simeon, CA
  15. 2.7 13km NE of San Simeon, 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.