QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 11:54 pm PST (07:54 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) north-northeast of Coalinga, CA, at 10:50 pm PDT on 25 April 2021 (05:50 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 15km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA

62 km (39 mi) SW of Fresno, CA · 55 km (34 mi) W of Hanford, CA

10:50 pm PDT, Apr 25, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Coalinga Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 53 kmFresno County 70 kmSan Benito County 78 kmMonterey County 95 kmMerced County 100 kmMadera County 104 kmSan Luis Obispo County 111 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
10:50 pm PDT on 25 April 2021 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) north-northeast of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 53 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 7 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 2023 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 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: Huron, San Joaquin.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 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 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 4.0 on 2018-11-27 — about 680 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 16 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 46 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 46 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 28 km SSE 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 36.3732, -120.2698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 53 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 70 km (43 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Benito County, CA 78 km (48 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 95 km (59 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 100 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Merced County
Madera County, CA 104 km (65 mi) NNE earthquakes near Madera County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.0 17km NW of New Idria, CA
  2. 1.8 16km N of New Idria, CA
  3. 2.8 23km NW of Parkfield, CA
  4. 1.6 13km NW of Avenal, CA
  5. 3.8 15km SSE of New Idria, CA
  6. 1.9 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
  7. 1.8 25km NW of Parkfield, CA
  8. 1.9 23km NW of Parkfield, CA
  9. 1.6 19km NNW of Coalinga, CA
  10. 1.8 17km N of New Idria, CA
  11. 3.0 16km ENE of New Idria, CA
  12. 2.1 12km W of Cantua Creek, CA
  13. 2.1 13km NW of Parkfield, CA
  14. 2.1 10km SSW of Stratford, CA
  15. 1.9 12km SSW of Cantua Creek, 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.