QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 4:21 pm PST (00:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) east of Soledad, CA, at 11:25 pm PST on 23 November 2021 (07:25 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 10km WNW of New Idria, CA

11:25 pm PST, Nov 23, 2021 · · 15 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 33 kmMonterey County 54 kmMerced County 83 kmKings County 96 kmFresno County 106 kmSanta Clara County 118 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:25 pm PST on 23 November 2021 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) east of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 33 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 18 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 1807 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Soledad, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 17 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 2019-10-15 — about 21,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 17 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 49 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 17 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 50 km ESE 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 36.4492, -120.7755. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 33 km (21 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 54 km (33 mi) WSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 83 km (52 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Kings County, CA 96 km (59 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 106 km (66 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fresno County
Santa Clara County, CA 118 km (74 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 7km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 1.5 5km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 1.6 4km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 2.2 17km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  5. 1.9 24km E of San Ardo, CA
  6. 1.9 3km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 2.1 7km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 1.6 2km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  9. 2.4 22km NE of San Lucas, CA
  10. 1.7 2km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 2.5 16km N of Coalinga, CA
  12. 2.5 5km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  13. 2.1 21km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  14. 1.7 10km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.7 4km W 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.