Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Los Banos, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Banos in the 24 hours to 9:55 pm PST (05:55 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Los Banos, CA, at 5:54 am PDT on 18 September 2021 (12:54 UTC), 5.9 km deep.
USGS: 5km NNE of Los Banos, CA
91 km (56 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA · 38 km (24 mi) SW of Merced, CA
- When
- 5:54 am PDT on 18 September 2021 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Los Banos, CA · earthquakes near Los Banos
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Merced County, 14 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 12 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 1872 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Banos, 5 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 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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 37.0960, -120.8200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced County, CA | 14 km (9 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| San Benito County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Madera County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | E | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
7 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 30km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 16km W of Los Banos, CA
- 1.7 27km NE of Hollister, CA
- 1.7 28km SSW of South Dos Palos, CA
- 2.1 26km SW of Gustine, CA
- 2.1 12km NNE of Hollister, CA
- 2.4 6km NNE of Los Banos, 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.