Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Cambria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cambria in the 24 hours to 11:05 am PST (19:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 18 km (11 mi) NNE, at 5:04 pm PDT on 21 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cambria
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) west-northwest of Cambria, CA, at 5:01 am PDT on 7 May 2023 (12:01 UTC), 6.9 km deep.
USGS: 5km W of San Simeon, CA
- When
- 5:01 am PDT on 7 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 17 km (11 mi) west-northwest of Cambria, CA · earthquakes near Cambria
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 6.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 67 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Simeon fault, 4 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 1285 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cambria, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cambria, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Cambria, 17 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 4.7 on 2021-10-25 — about 45,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 15 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 12 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 43 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 23 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 35.6418, -121.2485. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | N | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| San Benito County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Benito 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.
- 1.6 18 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 12 km NNE of Cayucos, CA
- 1.5 26 km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 20 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.6 14 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 25 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.9 25 km W of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 10 km W of Atascadero, CA
- 1.5 26 km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.7 21 km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 14 km N of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 30 km S of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.5 20 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.7 20 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.5 16 km N of San Simeon, 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.