quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Fresno, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Fresno in the 24 hours to 2:21 am PST (10:21 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) ESE, at 8:23 am PST on 27 February 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fresno
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.3 quarry blast was recorded 31 km (19 mi) north of Fresno, CA, at 1:21 pm PDT on 22 March 2024 (20:21 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 8 km WNW of Friant, CA
27 km (17 mi) N of Fresno, CA · 24 km (15 mi) NNW of Clovis, CA
- When
- 1:21 pm PDT on 22 March 2024 ()
- Where
- 31 km (19 mi) north of Fresno, CA · earthquakes near Fresno
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- -0.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Madera County, 21 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 954 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fresno, CA
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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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Fresno, 31 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: Yosemite Lakes 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 37.0230, -119.7943. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 21 km (13 mi) | N | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Fresno County, CA | 32 km (20 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | N | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Merced County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Kings County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 7 km E of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.0 11 km ENE of North Fork, CA
- 1.6 8 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.0 11 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 2.2 10 km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 1.7 8 km WNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 2.1 7 km SSE of Oakhurst, CA
- 2.2 21 km E of Le Grand, CA
- 2.7 19 km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.4 9 km S of Shaver Lake, CA
- 2.2 3 km ESE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.0 7 km E of Friant, CA
- 1.9 4 km E of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 2.0 4 km ESE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, CA
- 2.3 11 km NNE of Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, 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.