QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Huron, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Huron in the 24 hours to 3:56 am PST (11:56 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 10 km (6 mi) SE, at 2:35 am PDT on 16 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Huron

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) west of Huron, CA, at 12:36 pm PST on 24 February 2021 (20:36 UTC), 3.9 km deep.

USGS: 10km W of Huron, CA

73 km (45 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 51 km (32 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA

12:36 pm PST, Feb 24, 2021 · · 3.9 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 39 kmFresno County 78 kmSan Benito County 90 kmSan Luis Obispo County 95 kmMonterey County 99 kmMadera County 118 kmMerced 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
12:36 pm PST on 24 February 2021 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) west of Huron, CA · earthquakes near Huron
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
3.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 39 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 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 2085 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Huron, 10 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.

Likely felt in: Huron 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 4,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 9 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 36 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 10 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 36.2177, -120.2090. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 78 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Benito County, CA 90 km (56 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 95 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Monterey County, CA 99 km (62 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County
Madera County, CA 118 km (73 mi) NNE earthquakes near Madera County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 21km NW of Parkfield, CA
  2. 1.6 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
  3. 1.6 20km S of Kettleman City, CA
  4. 1.9 22km NE of San Ardo, CA
  5. 1.9 22km NE of San Ardo, CA
  6. 1.5 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
  7. 1.7 11km WSW of Huron, CA
  8. 1.7 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
  9. 2.2 6km SSE of Riverdale, CA
  10. 2.0 12km NW of Parkfield, CA
  11. 1.6 18km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  12. 3.6 11km WSW of Huron, CA
  13. 1.5 3km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  14. 2.5 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
  15. 2.0 22km 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.