Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Mendota, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mendota in the 24 hours to 11:36 pm PST (07:36 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 74 km (46 mi) WSW, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 34 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mendota
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south of Mendota, CA, at 3:04 pm PDT on 15 March 2021 (22:04 UTC), 20 km deep.
USGS: 10km SW of Tranquillity, CA
53 km (33 mi) WSW of Fresno, CA · 47 km (29 mi) SSW of Madera, CA
- When
- 3:04 pm PDT on 15 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) south of Mendota, CA · earthquakes near Mendota
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fresno County, 64 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 15 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 2065 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mendota, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mendota, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Mendota, 18 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: San Joaquin, Kerman.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 40 km S of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 41 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NE of Coalinga, California · 42 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 22 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · 34 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 36.5945, -120.3423. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 75 km (46 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Merced County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Madera County, CA | 86 km (54 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Monterey County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
37 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 13km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.9 9km NNE of New Idria, CA
- 2.0 17km NW of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 16km N of New Idria, CA
- 3.8 15km SSE of New Idria, CA
- 2.1 11km SSW of Fairmead, CA
- 1.9 25km SSW of South Dos Palos, CA
- 1.6 19km NNW of Coalinga, CA
- 1.8 17km N of New Idria, CA
- 3.0 16km ENE of New Idria, CA
- 2.1 12km W of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.9 12km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.7 8km WNW of Huron, CA
- 1.5 13km WNW of Huron, CA
- 1.7 30km NE of Pinnacles, 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.