Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Templeton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Templeton in the 24 hours to 4:07 am PST (12:07 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west of Templeton, CA, at 3:01 am PST on 21 November 2025 (11:01 UTC), 4.2 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km W of Templeton, CA
76 km (47 mi) NNW of Santa Maria, CA
- When
- 3:01 am PST on 21 November 2025 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) west of Templeton, CA · earthquakes near Templeton
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 4.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 36 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 346 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Templeton, 8 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: Paso Robles, Atascadero, Cayucos, Lake Nacimiento, Morro Bay, San Miguel.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 15,000 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 · 32 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 · 37 km W of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 47 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 35.5557, -120.7927. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 36 km (23 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 | 120 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
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 14 km S of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 1.6 7 km W of Templeton, CA
- 1.6 8 km W of Baywood-Los Osos, CA
- 2.0 14 km WSW of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.1 13 km E of Cambria, CA
- 2.6 13 km E of Cambria, CA
- 1.5 3 km WSW of Morro Bay, CA
- 2.1 13 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
- 1.9 4 km NNW of Cholame, CA
- 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
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.