Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 3:07 pm PST (23:07 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 5:38 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salinas
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) east of Salinas, CA, at 4:22 pm PDT on 17 May 2023 (23:22 UTC), 3.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
82 km (51 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA · 29 km (18 mi) E of Salinas, CA
- When
- 4:22 pm PDT on 17 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 31 km (19 mi) east of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 3.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 21 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 2 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 1273 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salinas, 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Salinas, 31 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Ridgemark, Hollister, Chualar, Gonzales, San Juan Bautista, Soledad.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 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 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 2019-10-15 — about 61,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 10 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 46 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 5 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 18 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 1 km ENE 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 36.6778, -121.3103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 21 km (13 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | S | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Merced County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.3 24km NE of King City, CA
- 1.9 2km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 2km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 2km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 2km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 2km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.5 1km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 13km ESE of Gilroy, CA
- 2.6 7km WSW of Gilroy, CA
- 3.3 1km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 11km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 2.5 8km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 8km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 2km NNE of Pinnacles, 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.