Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.1mw
Earthquake near Templeton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Templeton in the 24 hours to 7:04 am PST (15:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 13 km (8 mi) S, at 6:08 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Templeton
This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) west of Templeton, CA, at 9:54 am PST on 18 November 2025 (17:54 UTC), 4.9 km deep. 1,099 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km W of Templeton, CA
76 km (47 mi) NNW of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 9:54 am PST on 18 November 2025 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) west of Templeton, CA · earthquakes near Templeton
- Magnitude
- M 4.1 (mw)
- Depth
- 4.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1,099 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 36 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 51 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Templeton, CA
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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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 105 km (65 mi) from the epicentre. In Templeton, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Paso Robles 12 km, intensity IV · Atascadero 13 km, intensity IV · Cayucos 15 km, intensity IV · Cambria 27 km, intensity III · Los Osos 27 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 22 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 7,700× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.1 about 22 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 46× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 1.9 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 38 km W of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 48 km NNW 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 35.5528, -120.7878. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Kings County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Benito County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 132 km (82 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 9 km NNW of Cholame, CA
- 1.6 7 km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.9 7 km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.9 7 km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.7 11 km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.9 13 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- 2.1 6 km E of San Luis Obispo, CA
- 1.6 5 km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 2.8 2 km W of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 2 km W of Parkfield, CA
- 1.7 8 km ESE of Atascadero, CA
- 2.2 8 km N of Cambria, CA
- 1.8 11 km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 8 km N of Cambria, CA
- 2.3 9 km N of Cambria, 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.