QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 5:11 pm PST (01:11 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) east of Soledad, CA, at 2:46 pm PDT on 12 October 2023 (21:46 UTC), 18 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 19 km WNW of New Idria, CA

2:46 pm PDT, Oct 12, 2023 · · 18 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Soledad Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 24 kmMonterey County 47 kmMerced County 82 kmKings County 105 kmSanta Clara County 110 kmFresno County 114 kmSanta Cruz County 117 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
2:46 pm PDT on 12 October 2023 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) east of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
San Benito County, 24 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 13 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 1061 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 40 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 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 1,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 25 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 21 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 44 km WNW 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 36.4713, -120.8782. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 47 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 82 km (51 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Kings County, CA 105 km (65 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Santa Clara County, CA 110 km (69 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Fresno County, CA 114 km (71 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 3.7 25 km SSW of Los Banos, CA
  3. 1.8 8 km SSE of San Lucas, CA
  4. 1.5 4 km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
  5. 1.6 10 km E of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 2.0 6 km E of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 1.7 13 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  8. 2.5 24 km N of New Idria, CA
  9. 1.9 12 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.1 10 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 2.2 2 km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 2.2 2 km N of Pinnacles, CA
  13. 1.6 16 km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  14. 1.5 22 km NE of King City, CA
  15. 2.1 15 km N of New Idria, 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.