Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Mendota, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mendota in the 24 hours to 11:30 pm PST (07:30 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) south of Mendota, CA, at 3:31 pm PST on 20 December 2024 (23:31 UTC), 8.6 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km NNW of Cantua Creek, CA
56 km (35 mi) WSW of Fresno, CA · 51 km (31 mi) SSW of Madera, CA
- When
- 3:31 pm PST on 20 December 2024 ()
- Where
- 20 km (13 mi) south of Mendota, CA · earthquakes near Mendota
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 64 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 11 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 623 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mendota, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mendota, 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 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 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Mendota, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Mendota 20 km, intensity III · Huron 47 km, intensity II · Coalinga 48 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,100× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.8× more
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 lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 38 km S of this epicentre
- 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 22 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 47 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 38 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NE of Coalinga, California · 40 km SSE 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 36.5702, -120.3673. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Fresno County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Kings County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Merced County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Madera County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Monterey County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 12 km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.8 11 km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 2.0 18 km WNW of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 21 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.5 12 km S of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.5 11 km SSE of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 9 km E of Coalinga, CA
- 2.2 8 km S of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.7 13 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.7 10 km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.7 11 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.7 12 km NNE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 8 km SE of New Idria, CA
- 2.0 8 km SE of New Idria, CA
- 1.8 13 km WSW of Cantua Creek, 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.