Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Midpines, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Midpines in the 24 hours to 5:29 am PST (13:29 UTC). The last one was M 5.2, 210 km (131 mi) NNE, at 1:17 am PDT on 1 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,875 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Midpines
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) northwest of Midpines, CA, at 9:17 am PDT on 16 April 2021 (16:17 UTC), 29 km deep.
USGS: 14km NW of Midpines, CA
97 km (60 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA · 54 km (33 mi) NE of Merced, CA
- When
- 9:17 am PDT on 16 April 2021 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) northwest of Midpines, CA · earthquakes near Midpines
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 29 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mariposa County, 13 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2031 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Midpines, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Midpines, 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 Midpines, 14 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: Mariposa.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 47 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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 37.6373, -120.0323. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariposa County, CA | 13 km (8 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Madera County, CA | 54 km (33 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Calaveras County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Calaveras County |
| Merced County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | W | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 10km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 1.6 22km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.3 21km S of Mariposa, CA
- 2.3 21km S of Mariposa, CA
- 1.7 22km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 1.8 12km NW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 1.7 22km ENE of Le Grand, CA
- 3.0 19km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.3 21km S of Mariposa, CA
- 2.8 14km ENE of Midpines, CA
- 2.1 17km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 1.7 8km SSE of Bootjack, CA
- 2.1 20km ENE of Le Grand, CA
- 2.5 21km S of Mariposa, CA
- 2.1 17km NE of Midpines, 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.