QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 6:06 am PST (14:06 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Soledad, CA, at 7:34 am PST on 6 December 2024 (15:34 UTC), 6.9 km deep.

USGS: 3 km ESE of Lopez Point, CA

7:34 am PST, Dec 6, 2024 · · 6.9 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 32 kmSan Benito County 78 kmSanta Cruz 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
7:34 am PST on 6 December 2024 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
6.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 32 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
San Gregorio fault, 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 694 days ago

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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 50 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 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 4,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 37 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 25 km NW of San Simeon, California · 26 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 22 km NW of San Simeon, California · 29 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 3 km W of Soledad, California · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 8 km WSW of San Ardo, California · 48 km E 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 36.0110, -121.5362. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 78 km (48 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 120 km (75 mi) SE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 17 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  2. 1.6 25 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  3. 1.8 17 km WNW of San Simeon, CA
  4. 1.8 24 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  5. 3.6 22 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  6. 2.3 7 km W of San Simeon, CA
  7. 2.1 24 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  8. 1.5 7 km NNE of Greenfield, CA
  9. 2.0 23 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  10. 2.2 21 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  11. 1.9 33 km SW of Lopez Point, CA
  12. 2.2 21 km SW of King City, CA
  13. 2.3 14 km SE of Point Sur, CA
  14. 2.2 30 km SSW of Lopez Point, CA
  15. 1.9 20 km NNW of San Simeon, 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.