QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Le Grand, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Le Grand in the 24 hours to 11:00 pm PST (07:00 UTC). The last one was M 5.7, 258 km (160 mi) NNE, at 6:29 pm PDT on 13 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6,515 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Le Grand

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) east of Le Grand, CA, at 3:51 pm PST on 8 March 2022 (23:51 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 21km E of Le Grand, CA

51 km (32 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA · 27 km (17 mi) NNE of Madera, CA

3:51 pm PST, Mar 8, 2022 · · 15 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Madera County 24 kmMariposa County 42 kmFresno County 59 kmMerced County 62 kmTuolumne County 91 kmStanislaus County 96 kmSan Benito County 116 kmCalaveras County 119 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
3:51 pm PST on 8 March 2022 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) east of Le Grand, CA · earthquakes near Le Grand
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Madera County, 24 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1708 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 Le Grand, 21 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: Madera Acres, Fairmead, Yosemite Lakes, Chowchilla, Madera, Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 37.2040, -120.0178. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Madera County, CA 24 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Madera County
Mariposa County, CA 42 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mariposa County
Fresno County, CA 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fresno County
Merced County, CA 62 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Merced County
Tuolumne County, CA 91 km (57 mi) N earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Stanislaus County, CA 96 km (59 mi) WNW earthquakes near Stanislaus County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7km NE of Ahwahnee, CA
  2. 2.0 10km SSW of Mariposa, CA
  3. 2.3 10km SSW of Mariposa, CA
  4. 1.7 22km ENE of Le Grand, CA
  5. 2.1 22km ENE of Le Grand, CA
  6. 1.6 7km NE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
  7. 1.7 6km ENE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
  8. 2.3 21km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  9. 2.1 12km SSW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
  10. 2.4 10km SSW of Mariposa, CA
  11. 1.6 22km SSW of Bootjack, CA
  12. 2.1 6km ENE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
  13. 2.3 21km S of Mariposa, CA
  14. 2.3 21km S of Mariposa, CA
  15. 1.7 22km SSW of Bootjack, 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.