QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 12:43 pm PST (20:43 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Coalinga, CA, at 3:16 am PDT on 6 July 2022 (10:16 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 4km SW of New Idria, CA

3:16 am PDT, Jul 6, 2022 · · 16 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 42 kmMonterey County 57 kmKings County 88 kmMerced County 89 kmFresno County 102 kmSan Luis Obispo County 114 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
3:16 am PDT on 6 July 2022 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) northwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 42 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 19 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 1589 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 Coalinga, 42 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 12 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 4.1 on 2022-03-13 — about 3,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 15 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 12 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 42 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 36.3963, -120.7055. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 42 km (26 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 57 km (36 mi) WSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Kings County, CA 88 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Merced County, CA 89 km (55 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Fresno County, CA 102 km (63 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 114 km (71 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 4km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 1.7 3km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 2.5 12km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 1.5 23km W of New Idria, CA
  5. 2.3 2km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 2.1 23km NE of San Ardo, CA
  7. 1.9 23km NE of San Ardo, CA
  8. 2.8 2km N of New Idria, CA
  9. 2.1 5km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 1.9 5km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 2.0 8km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 1.9 20km NNW of New Idria, CA
  13. 1.5 30km E of Tres Pinos, CA
  14. 1.6 4km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.7 3km NE of New Idria, 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.