Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Los Banos, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Banos in the 24 hours to 10:23 pm PST (06:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 36 km (22 mi) WNW, at 9:18 pm PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Los Banos
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Los Banos, CA, at 8:10 am PDT on 16 May 2021 (15:10 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 8km S of Los Banos, CA
91 km (57 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA · 49 km (31 mi) SW of Merced, CA
- When
- 8:10 am PDT on 16 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) south of Los Banos, CA · earthquakes near Los Banos
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- -0.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Merced County, 26 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 2 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 2005 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Banos, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Los Banos, 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Banos, 8 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.
Likely felt in: Los Banos 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 43 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 49 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 1 km NE of Tres Pinos, California · 45 km WSW 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 36.9855, -120.8603. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Benito County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 65 km (41 mi) | N | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Monterey County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Madera County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Madera County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
14 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 8km NE of Ridgemark, CA
- 3.7 2km WSW of Los Banos, CA
- 1.7 10km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 12km NE of Hollister, CA
- 1.6 20km SW of Gustine, CA
- 1.6 26km SSW of Los Banos, CA
- 1.9 11km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 6km NNE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.4 12km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 24km NW of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 8km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.3 22km SW of Los Banos, CA
- 1.6 7km NE of Ridgemark, CA
- 1.9 23km S of South Dos Palos, 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.