Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Coalinga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 10:25 pm PST (06:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) northwest of Coalinga, CA, at 5:19 am PDT on 19 March 2021 (12:19 UTC), 8.7 km deep.
USGS: 4km NW of New Idria, CA
- When
- 5:19 am PDT on 19 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) northwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 8.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 38 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 20 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 2063 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Coalinga, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Coalinga, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 46 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 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 2021-01-02 — about 7,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 43 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 12 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 16 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NE of Coalinga, California · 46 km ESE 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 36.4402, -120.7132. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | N | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Kings County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2km WSW of King City, CA
- 2.5 7km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 15km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.9 7km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 23km NE of King City, CA
- 2.5 22km NE of San Lucas, CA
- 2.2 11km NE of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 14km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 23km S of South Dos Palos, CA
- 2.2 6km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 17km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 9km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 5km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 8km ESE of Greenfield, CA
- 1.9 23km WSW of New Idria, 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.