Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Coalinga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 4:12 am PST (12:12 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Coalinga, CA, at 2:24 am PDT on 20 September 2020 (09:24 UTC), 12 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km SSW of New Idria, CA
- When
- 2:24 am PDT on 20 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 47 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 14 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 2241 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Coalinga, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Coalinga, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 37 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 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 41 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 7 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 38 km ESE 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 36.3263, -120.7020. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Kings County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Merced County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | N | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Fresno County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 8km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 12km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 2km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 10km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 19km WNW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.6 30km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 32km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.3 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 23km WSW of New Idria, CA
- 1.9 8km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 23km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.1 7km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.8 20km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 22km ESE of Pinnacles, 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.