QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near King City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in King City in the 24 hours to 1:38 pm PST (21:38 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) east of King City, CA, at 6:14 pm PST on 4 January 2021 (02:14 UTC), 5.6 km deep.

USGS: 23km ENE of San Lucas, CA

6:14 pm PST, Jan 4, 2021 · · 5.6 km deep · released about 9 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near King City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 47 kmSan Benito County 51 kmKings County 89 kmSan Luis Obispo County 98 kmMerced County 108 kmFresno County 118 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
6:14 pm PST on 4 January 2021 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) east of King City, CA · earthquakes near King City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
5.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 47 km W
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, under 1 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 2136 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In King City, 30 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 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 43 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 9 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 43 km SSE 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 36.2233, -120.7883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 47 km (29 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 51 km (32 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Kings County, CA 89 km (55 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 98 km (61 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Merced County, CA 108 km (67 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Fresno County, CA 118 km (73 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fresno 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.

  1. 1.6 17km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 2.0 14km NW of Parkfield, CA
  3. 1.6 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
  4. 1.5 7km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  5. 2.7 13km WSW of Parkfield, CA
  6. 1.9 18km W of New Idria, CA
  7. 2.5 13km E of New Idria, CA
  8. 2.2 6km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  9. 1.7 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
  10. 2.6 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
  11. 1.5 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
  12. 2.4 12km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  13. 2.4 21km NW of Parkfield, CA
  14. 2.2 20km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 2.0 24km ENE of San Ardo, 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.