QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Avenal, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 2:31 am PST (10:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 7 km (4 mi) NW, at 12:34 am PDT on 18 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Avenal

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) southwest of Avenal, CA, at 10:43 am PDT on 23 May 2025 (17:43 UTC), 9.3 km deep.

USGS: 12 km ESE of Parkfield, CA

10:43 am PDT, May 23, 2025 · · 9.3 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Avenal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 50 kmSan Luis Obispo County 54 kmMonterey County 100 kmSan Benito County 109 kmFresno County 116 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
10:43 am PDT on 23 May 2025 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) southwest of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
9.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 50 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 6 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 532 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 23 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Shandon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 3,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 42 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 13 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 24 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 7 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 32 km W 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 35.8585, -120.3060. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 50 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 54 km (33 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Monterey County, CA 100 km (62 mi) WNW earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 109 km (68 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Fresno County, CA 116 km (72 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 16 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  2. 1.7 23 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  3. 1.6 10 km NW of Avenal, CA
  4. 2.7 3 km ENE of Cholame, CA
  5. 2.6 9 km NW of Avenal, CA
  6. 2.0 10 km NW of Avenal, CA
  7. 1.5 12 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  8. 1.6 4 km SW of Kettleman City, CA
  9. 1.7 16 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  10. 1.6 21 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  11. 1.5 9 km NW of Avenal, CA
  12. 2.6 12 km NE of Coalinga, CA
  13. 1.8 11 km NE of Coalinga, CA
  14. 1.5 3 km NNE of Cholame, CA
  15. 1.5 7 km E of Avenal, 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.