Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Paso Robles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Paso Robles in the 24 hours to 9:20 pm PST (05:20 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 21 km (13 mi) S, at 11:41 pm PDT on 15 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 61 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Paso Robles
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) north-northwest of Paso Robles, CA, at 9:03 am PDT on 1 October 2024 (16:03 UTC), 9.3 km deep.
USGS: 5 km SSE of San Ardo, CA
- When
- 9:03 am PDT on 1 October 2024 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) north-northwest of Paso Robles, CA · earthquakes near Paso Robles
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 9.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 49 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 22 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 770 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Paso Robles, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Paso Robles, 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 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Paso Robles, 43 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: Lake Nacimiento.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 31,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km E of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 49 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 37 km NNE 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 35.9810, -120.8805. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 153 km (95 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 11 km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.6 14 km N of Cayucos, CA
- 1.7 16 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.9 22 km NE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.9 24 km NNW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.5 17 km NNW of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 4 km SSW of Paso Robles, CA
- 1.9 18 km NNW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.2 15 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 15 km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 11 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 22 km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.7 25 km NNW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 25 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
- 2.1 19 km NNW 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
- 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.