Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Cambria, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cambria in the 24 hours to 2:08 pm PST (22:08 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Cambria, CA, at 1:57 pm PDT on 12 May 2023 (20:57 UTC), 4.5 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- When
- 1:57 pm PDT on 12 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Cambria, CA · earthquakes near Cambria
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 4.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 55 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 1209 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 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Cambria, 26 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: Cambria 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 630 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 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 450 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 · 14 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 8 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 28 km S of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 34 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 13 km NW 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 35.7493, -121.2477. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | N | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 83 km (51 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| San Benito County, CA | 97 km (60 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
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 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 3 km NNW of Lopez Point, CA
- 1.9 25 km W of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 26 km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 2 km SSE of San Ardo, 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
- 1.6 23 km NW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 17 km SSE of Lopez Point, 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.