Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Cambria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cambria in the 24 hours to 8:15 am PST (16:15 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 18 km (11 mi) NNE, at 5:04 pm PDT on 21 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cambria
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Cambria, CA, at 10:29 am PST on 9 November 2021 (18:29 UTC), 6.3 km deep.
USGS: 11km NNE of Cambria, CA
- When
- 10:29 am PST on 9 November 2021 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Cambria, CA · earthquakes near Cambria
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 6.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 63 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hosgri fault, 13 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 1821 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cambria, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cambria, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Cambria, 11 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: Lake Nacimiento, Cayucos.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 4.7 on 2021-10-25 — about 46,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 6 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 23 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 33 km NNE 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 35.6633, -121.0513. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 68 km (43 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 105 km (66 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings 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.
- 1.5 17km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.2 8km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.1 8km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.5 8km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 10km SW of Templeton, CA
- 1.9 26km W of San Simeon, CA
- 3.3 8km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.0 8km NNE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.9 8km NNE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.3 11km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.7 6km E of Atascadero, CA
- 1.8 22km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 6km E of Atascadero, CA
- 1.5 12km NNE of Cayucos, 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.