QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Los Banos, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Banos in the 24 hours to 7:29 pm PST (03:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 36 km (22 mi) WNW, at 9:18 pm PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Los Banos

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Los Banos, CA, at 4:14 am PST on 13 March 2021 (12:14 UTC), 3.8 km deep.

USGS: 24km NE of Tres Pinos, CA

75 km (47 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA · 44 km (27 mi) ESE of Gilroy, CA

4:14 am PST, Mar 13, 2021 · · 3.8 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Banos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 35 kmMerced County 45 kmSanta Clara County 61 kmStanislaus County 72 kmMonterey County 78 kmSanta Cruz County 81 kmAlameda County 107 kmSan Joaquin County 113 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
4:14 am PST on 13 March 2021 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Los Banos, CA · earthquakes near Los Banos
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
3.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 35 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Ortigalita fault, 6 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 2067 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Banos, 27 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ridgemark, Hollister.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 7,700 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. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 24 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 31 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 34 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 32 km SSW 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 36.9237, -121.1065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 35 km (22 mi) S earthquakes near San Benito County
Merced County, CA 45 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Merced County
Santa Clara County, CA 61 km (38 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Stanislaus County, CA 72 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Monterey County, CA 78 km (49 mi) SSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Santa Cruz County, CA 81 km (50 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz 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. 2.0 10km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 1.8 3km N of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 2.0 10km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 2.0 3km N of Pinnacles, CA
  5. 2.1 10km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 1.6 5km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 2.1 6km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
  8. 1.9 4km N of Pinnacles, CA
  9. 2.2 5km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  10. 1.9 5km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  11. 2.8 6km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  12. 2.4 12km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  13. 1.6 6km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  14. 1.8 6km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  15. 1.9 6km S of San Juan Bautista, 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.