Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near San Miguel, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Miguel in the 24 hours to 4:05 am PST (12:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 25 km (15 mi) SW, at 8:13 pm PDT on 2 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near San Miguel
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of San Miguel, CA, at 2:42 am PST on 4 January 2023 (10:42 UTC), 7.2 km deep.
USGS: 6km ENE of San Miguel, CA
- When
- 2:42 am PST on 4 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of San Miguel, CA · earthquakes near San Miguel
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 7.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 46 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 22 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 1401 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Miguel, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near San Miguel, 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In San Miguel, 6 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: Paso Robles, Lake Nacimiento, Templeton, Shandon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 4,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km E of this epicentre
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 43 km W of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 28 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 24 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 9 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 35.7748, -120.6303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Kings County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Benito County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Fresno County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 8km NNE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 4km WNW of Templeton, CA
- 1.6 16km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.6 24km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.9 18km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.5 12km SW of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 1.5 23km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 10km ESE of Shandon, CA
- 1.7 10km WSW of Atascadero, CA
- 1.5 8km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.8 5km WSW of San Ardo, CA
- 1.5 12km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.1 5km WSW of San Ardo, CA
- 1.8 21km NNE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.5 10km N of Bradley, 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.