QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near King City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in King City in the 24 hours to 2:31 am PST (10:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 14 km (8 mi) E, at 4:39 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near King City

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) south of King City, CA, at 12:19 pm PDT on 23 May 2026 (19:19 UTC), 3.7 km deep.

USGS: 20 km N of San Simeon, CA

12:19 pm PDT, May 23, 2026 · · 3.7 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near King City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 48 kmSan Luis Obispo County 83 kmSan Benito County 88 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
12:19 pm PDT on 23 May 2026 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) south of King City, CA · earthquakes near King City
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
3.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 48 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
San Gregorio fault, 13 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 163 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In King City, 44 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 4.7 on 2021-10-25 — about 30,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 16 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 36 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 25 km NE 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 35.8233, -121.1997. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Monterey County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 83 km (52 mi) SE earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
San Benito County, CA 88 km (55 mi) N earthquakes near San Benito County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.4 12 km WNW of Templeton, CA
  2. 2.6 28 km SSE of Lopez Point, CA
  3. 1.8 25 km NNW of San Simeon, CA
  4. 1.8 11 km SSW of San Lucas, CA
  5. 1.5 14 km N of San Simeon, CA
  6. 1.3 7 km W of Templeton, CA
  7. 1.4 8 km W of Templeton, CA
  8. 1.3 8 km W of Templeton, CA
  9. 1.9 15 km WNW of Templeton, CA
  10. 1.0 13 km N of San Simeon, CA
  11. 2.3 13 km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
  12. 2.6 12 km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
  13. 1.9 11 km SW of King City, CA
  14. 1.6 7 km W of Templeton, CA
  15. 1.7 27 km NW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.