QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Coalinga, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coalinga in the 24 hours to 1:36 am PST (09:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:44 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coalinga

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west-northwest of Coalinga, CA, at 4:28 pm PST on 22 January 2026 (00:28 UTC), 14 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 6 km WNW of Coalinga, CA

89 km (56 mi) SW of Fresno, CA

4:28 pm PST, Jan 22, 2026 · · 14 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 55 kmSan Benito County 78 kmMonterey County 81 kmSan Luis Obispo County 86 kmFresno County 96 kmMerced County 118 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
4:28 pm PST on 22 January 2026 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west-northwest of Coalinga, CA · earthquakes near Coalinga
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 55 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 293 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 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Coalinga, 6 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: Huron.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 4,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 13 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 19 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km S 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 36.1575, -120.4207. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
San Benito County, CA 78 km (49 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 81 km (50 mi) W earthquakes near Monterey County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 86 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 96 km (60 mi) NE earthquakes near Fresno County
Merced County, CA 118 km (74 mi) NNW earthquakes near Merced County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 15 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  2. 1.6 8 km SW of New Idria, CA
  3. 1.7 10 km ESE of Huron, CA
  4. 1.7 14 km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
  5. 2.0 14 km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
  6. 2.0 5 km NNE of New Idria, CA
  7. 1.8 8 km WNW of New Idria, CA
  8. 1.5 19 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  9. 1.9 15 km N of New Idria, CA
  10. 1.7 1 km ENE of Huron, CA
  11. 1.6 1 km S of Huron, CA
  12. 1.5 1 km SSE of Huron, CA
  13. 1.8 2 km SSE of Huron, CA
  14. 2.3 1 km SSE of Huron, CA
  15. 1.7 12 km NNE of Coalinga, 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.