QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 11:47 pm PST (07:47 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Coalinga, CA, at 1:31 pm PDT on 10 August 2023 (20:31 UTC), 9.5 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km NW of Parkfield, CA

1:31 pm PDT, Aug 10, 2023 · · 9.5 km deep · released about 530 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Coalinga Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Luis Obispo County 60 kmKings County 62 kmMonterey County 83 kmSan Benito County 93 kmFresno County 119 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
1:31 pm PDT on 10 August 2023 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
9.5 km below the surface
Felt
9 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
San Luis Obispo County, 60 km S
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, under 1 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 1121 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 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: Coalinga 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 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 150 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 29 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 8 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 16 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 49 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 35.9277, -120.4803. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Luis Obispo County, CA 60 km (37 mi) S earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Kings County, CA 62 km (38 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kings County
Monterey County, CA 83 km (51 mi) WNW earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 93 km (58 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Fresno County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno 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. 2.4 10 km N of Coalinga, CA
  2. 2.4 7 km NW of Kettleman City, CA
  3. 1.9 6 km NW of Kettleman City, CA
  4. 1.6 5 km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  5. 1.6 4 km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  6. 2.4 5 km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  7. 2.1 5 km ENE of Coalinga, CA
  8. 1.8 15 km NNW of Coalinga, CA
  9. 2.4 8 km NW of Kettleman City, CA
  10. 2.8 7 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  11. 1.9 6 km NNW of Cholame, CA
  12. 2.4 19 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  13. 2.2 15 km NNW of Coalinga, CA
  14. 1.6 8 km NW of Kettleman City, CA
  15. 1.5 16 km NW of Parkfield, 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.