Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Madera, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Madera in the 24 hours to 4:12 am PST (12:12 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 5 km (3 mi) WNW, at 5:14 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Madera
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) west of Madera, CA, at 9:00 pm PDT on 5 April 2021 (04:00 UTC), 18 km deep.
USGS: 7km W of Madera, CA
5 km (3 mi) WSW of Madera, CA · 36 km (23 mi) WNW of Fresno, CA
- When
- 9:00 pm PDT on 5 April 2021 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) west of Madera, CA · earthquakes near Madera
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Madera County, 45 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2046 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Madera, CA
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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 Madera, 7 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: Parkwood, Madera Acres, Parksdale, Fairmead, Biola, Chowchilla.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 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 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 36.9533, -120.1433. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Fresno County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Merced County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| San Benito County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 5km ENE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.1 6km ENE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.2 12km N of Madera Acres, CA
- 2.2 3km SE of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 2.1 6km ENE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.4 21km S of Mariposa, CA
- 2.2 21km ENE of Le Grand, CA
- 1.9 7km NE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.2 7km NE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.3 16km SSW of Fairmead, CA
- 2.2 22km ENE of Le Grand, CA
- 2.1 5km ENE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.2 14km SSW of Fairmead, CA
- 2.2 13km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.1 6km NE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, 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.