Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Mendota, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mendota in the 24 hours to 1:29 am PST (09:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.9, 74 km (46 mi) WSW, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 34 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mendota
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) west-southwest of Mendota, CA, at 1:30 am PST on 2 December 2024 (09:30 UTC), 10 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 18 km of New Idria, CA
- When
- 1:30 am PST on 2 December 2024 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) west-southwest of Mendota, CA · earthquakes near Mendota
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 32 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 10 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 710 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mendota, CA
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Alerts are on for .
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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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Mendota, 37 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 41 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 8,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 14 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 31 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 22 km SSW of Three Rocks, California · 35 km SE 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 36.5737, -120.7292. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 32 km (20 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | N | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Fresno County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Kings County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 112 km (69 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 22 km ENE of San Ardo, CA
- 2.1 22 km SW of New Idria, CA
- 1.9 3 km of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 11 km SSE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 11 km ESE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 15 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 3 km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 12 km SSE of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.8 21 km ENE of San Lucas, CA
- 1.9 2 km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 18 km ESE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.5 2 km SSW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 11 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 16 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 12 km NW 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.