Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
Earthquake near Coalinga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 7:53 am PST (15:53 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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) north-northwest of Coalinga, CA, at 3:09 am PDT on 17 August 2021 (10:09 UTC), 16 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16km ENE of New Idria, CA
72 km (45 mi) WSW of Fresno, CA
- When
- 3:09 am PDT on 17 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 38 km (23 mi) north-northwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 55 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 6 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 1840 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Coalinga, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Coalinga, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 38 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: Mendota 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 320,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 30 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 10 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 31 km SE 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 36.4587, -120.4970. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 75 km (46 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Monterey County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Fresno County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Merced County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Madera County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madera 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.
- 2.4 22km NE of San Lucas, CA
- 2.5 16km N of Coalinga, CA
- 2.1 21km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 12km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 22km ENE of San Lucas, CA
- 1.7 28km SSW of South Dos Palos, CA
- 2.0 16km N of New Idria, CA
- 2.2 17km ENE of New Idria, CA
- 2.1 14km N of Coalinga, CA
- 2.7 10km NNE of New Idria, CA
- 1.9 24km NE of King City, CA
- 1.8 24km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 10km WNW of New Idria, CA
- 1.6 23km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.1 12km SE of Pinnacles, 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.