Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Seaside, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Seaside in the 24 hours to 7:22 am PST (15:22 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 60 km (37 mi) E, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 34 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seaside
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) south-southeast of Seaside, CA, at 12:35 am PDT on 10 July 2021 (07:35 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 21km ESE of Point Sur, CA
54 km (34 mi) S of Salinas, CA · 122 km (76 mi) S of San Jose, CA
- When
- 12:35 am PDT on 10 July 2021 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) south-southeast of Seaside, CA · earthquakes near Seaside
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 35 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 3 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 1942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Seaside, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Seaside, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Seaside, 47 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 77 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 77 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:
- 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 42 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 8 km E of Carmel Valley Village, California · 33 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 39 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.1 14 km NW of Big Sur, California · 26 km NW 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 36.2068, -121.6998. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | E | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 145 km (90 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
8 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 22km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.7 22km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.0 3km ENE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.9 7km NNE of Greenfield, CA
- 1.6 8km WNW of Greenfield, CA
- 1.7 19km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.2 2km NNE of Carmel Valley Village, CA
- 2.5 17km SSE of Lopez Point, 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.