Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Le Grand, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Le Grand in the 24 hours to 2:33 pm PST (22:33 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) east-northeast of Le Grand, CA, at 2:51 pm PST on 15 January 2023 (22:51 UTC), 16 km deep. 207 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 21km ENE of Le Grand, CA
61 km (38 mi) NNW of Fresno, CA · 37 km (23 mi) N of Madera, CA
- When
- 2:51 pm PST on 15 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 21 km (13 mi) east-northeast of Le Grand, CA · earthquakes near Le Grand
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 207 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Madera County, 26 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1317 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Le Grand, 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 54 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. 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.
Likely felt in: Mariposa 22 km, intensity II · Yosemite Lakes 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 95,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.7× more
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 37.2952, -120.0280. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 33 km (20 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Merced County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | W | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Fresno County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 91 km (57 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.
- 1.9 6 km E of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.3 6 km E of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.4 7 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.3 10 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.2 1 km ENE of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 1.8 5 km E of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 2.6 4 km ENE of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 1.8 10 km NW of Auberry, CA
- 2.3 10 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.0 10 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.3 11 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.8 10 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.0 9 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.7 8 km SW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.2 9 km SSW of Mariposa, 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.