Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 11:54 pm PST (07:54 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Avenal, CA, at 4:46 am PST on 28 February 2026 (12:46 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 11 km NW of Avenal, CA
86 km (53 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 56 km (35 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 4:46 am PST on 28 February 2026 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 35 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 8 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 249 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Avenal, 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 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 11 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: Coalinga, Huron, Kettleman City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 16 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 5,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km S of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 29 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 50 km WSW 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 36.0840, -120.2000. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 35 km (21 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 13 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.8 29 km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.0 3 km WSW of Armona, CA
- 2.5 1 km SW of Huron, CA
- 2.0 4 km WSW of Huron, CA
- 1.8 2 km WSW of Huron, CA
- 1.6 12 km S of Stratford, CA
- 2.5 7 km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 8 km NNW of Coalinga, CA
- 2.1 10 km SSW of Huron, CA
- 2.4 27 km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.5 23 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.7 11 km SE of Cantua Creek, CA
- 2.0 26 km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 3.0 27 km SSE of Kettleman City, 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.