Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 2:04 pm PST (22:04 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Avenal, CA, at 1:39 am PDT on 5 May 2026 (08:39 UTC), 15 km deep.
USGS: 7 km NNE of Avenal, CA
85 km (53 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 49 km (30 mi) SW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 1:39 am PDT on 5 May 2026 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 24 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 4 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 183 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Avenal, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Avenal, 7 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.
Likely felt in: Avenal 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 1,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 28 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 37 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 11 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 36.0575, -120.0868. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 24 km (15 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 81 km (51 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Tulare County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 14 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.8 12 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
- 1.6 17 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 17 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.6 11 km NNW of Corcoran, CA
- 2.8 4 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.1 22 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.9 8 km WNW of Corcoran, CA
- 2.5 7 km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.3 24 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.6 11 km SW of Huron, CA
- 1.9 9 km ESE of Coalinga, CA
- 2.1 18 km W of Alpaugh, CA
- 1.5 9 km SW of Stratford, CA
- 1.8 8 km SW of Stratford, 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.