Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 9:05 am PST (17:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 5:38 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salinas
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) south of Salinas, CA, at 3:52 pm PST on 10 March 2021 (23:52 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 16km ESE of Point Sur, CA
51 km (32 mi) S of Salinas, CA · 117 km (73 mi) S of San Jose, CA
- When
- 3:52 pm PST on 10 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) south of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 38 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 4 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 2073 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salinas, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Salinas, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Salinas, 49 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Carmel Valley Village.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.6 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 29 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.1 14 km NW of Big Sur, California · 20 km NW 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 36.2423, -121.7433. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 150 km (94 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
10 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 8km WNW of Greenfield, CA
- 1.7 19km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.2 2km NNE of Carmel Valley Village, CA
- 2.5 17km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.3 21km ESE of Point Sur, CA
- 1.5 16km NNE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.6 11km SW of King City, CA
- 1.5 9km NNE of Gonzales, CA
- 1.9 8km WNW of Del Monte Forest, CA
- 1.9 3km SE of Lopez Point, 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.