Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 4:19 am PST (12:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 7 km (4 mi) NW, at 12:34 am PDT on 18 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avenal
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Avenal, CA, at 3:38 am PDT on 15 April 2022 (10:38 UTC), 4.4 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km ENE of Avenal, CA
88 km (55 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 50 km (31 mi) SW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 3:38 am PDT on 15 April 2022 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 4.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kings County, 23 km ENE
- 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 1606 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
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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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Avenal 6 km, intensity III · Kettleman City 9 km, intensity III · Huron 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 330 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 39 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 35 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 16 km NNW 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 36.0182, -120.0620. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 23 km (14 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Tulare County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 5km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.9 10km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 11km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.7 7km SSW of Huron, CA
- 1.5 10km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 10km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 2.3 6km N of Lemoore, CA
- 1.9 10km N of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 6km SSE of Riverdale, CA
- 2.2 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 8km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 9km N of Avenal, CA
- 2.2 8km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 8km NNW of Avenal, 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.