13km NE of San Simeon, CA

2021-01-04 10:08 UTC · 4.8 km deep · released about 310 lb of TNT

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: 2021-01-04 10:08 UTC
Magnitude: M 2.7 (md)
Depth: 4.8 km below the surface
Felt: 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest: Monterey County, 61 km NNW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 1510 days ago · we first saw it 1510 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 310 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 50,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 35,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.1× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.7 about 310 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.

Where

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 35.7205, -121.0868. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction
Monterey County, CA	61 km (38 mi)	SSE of here	earthquakes near Monterey County
San Luis Obispo County, CA	69 km (43 mi)	WNW of here	earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
San Benito County, CA	99 km (62 mi)	S of here	earthquakes near San Benito County
Kings County, CA	121 km (75 mi)	WSW of here	earthquakes near Kings County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.1 8km E of San Ardo, CA 06:03 UTC
1.6 11km SW of King City, CA 08:47 UTC
2.1 6km SW of San Ardo, CA 04:21 UTC
1.8 6km SW of San Ardo, CA 16:34 UTC
1.6 13km W of San Ardo, CA 00:55 UTC
2.4 11km S of Cambria, CA 21:00 UTC
1.9 12km NNE of Cambria, CA 12:05 UTC
1.7 6km SW of San Ardo, CA 13:27 UTC
2.5 33km S of Lopez Point, CA 19:08 UTC
1.8 8km NE of San Simeon, CA 22:32 UTC
2.2 13km NNW of San Simeon, CA 17:58 UTC
1.8 8km NNE of Cayucos, CA 06:57 UTC
1.7 7km SSW of Atascadero, CA 20:59 UTC
2.6 13km NNW of San Simeon, CA 19:10 UTC
2.5 2km SE of San Ardo, CA 23:33 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 11:34 UTC. 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.