QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 7:43 am PST (15:43 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 3.3 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) east of Coalinga, CA, at 2:13 am PST on 9 February 2023 (10:13 UTC), 11 km deep. 15 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 11km E of Coalinga, CA

81 km (50 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 56 km (35 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA

2:13 am PST, Feb 9, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 1.5 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 39 kmFresno County 86 kmSan Luis Obispo County 86 kmSan Benito County 92 kmMonterey County 97 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
2:13 am PST on 9 February 2023 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) east of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 3.3 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
15 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Kings County, 39 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 8 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 1307 days ago

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 53 km (33 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 11 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: Coalinga 11 km, intensity III · Huron 14 km, intensity III · Avenal 18 km, intensity III · Kettleman City 29 km, intensity II · Lemoore 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.5 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,500× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.5 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.2× 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 27 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 12 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 44 km S of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 29 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 7 km E 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 36.1452, -120.2365. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 86 km (53 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 86 km (54 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
San Benito County, CA 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 97 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 125 km (77 mi) NNW earthquakes near Merced County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 11km S of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 1.6 12km NW of Avenal, CA
  3. 1.6 2km NE of Cholame, CA
  4. 1.5 18km SE of New Idria, CA
  5. 1.7 6km NNE of Avenal, CA
  6. 1.5 4km SW of New Idria, CA
  7. 1.9 10km NW of Parkfield, CA
  8. 1.6 2km N of Cholame, CA
  9. 1.8 8km SW of Lemoore Station, CA
  10. 2.5 20km S of Kettleman City, CA
  11. 2.2 4km SSW of Armona, CA
  12. 1.8 12km NW of Parkfield, CA
  13. 1.6 22km ENE of San Ardo, CA
  14. 1.6 19km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
  15. 1.9 2km SSW of Lemoore Station, 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.