QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Avenal, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Avenal in the 24 hours to 3:22 am PST (11:22 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northwest of Avenal, CA, at 7:13 pm PDT on 25 May 2026 (02:13 UTC), 9.1 km deep.

USGS: 7 km NW of Avenal, CA

89 km (56 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 57 km (36 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA

7:13 pm PDT, May 25, 2026 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 150 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Avenal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 34 kmSan Luis Obispo County 77 kmFresno County 93 kmSan Benito County 102 kmMonterey County 104 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
7:13 pm PDT on 25 May 2026 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) northwest of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 34 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 11 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 99 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 20 km (12 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 · Coalinga 19 km, intensity II · Huron 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 560 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 33 km S of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 28 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 30 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 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 36.0435, -120.1883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 77 km (48 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 93 km (58 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fresno County
San Benito County, CA 102 km (64 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 104 km (64 mi) WNW 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.

  1. 1.4 10 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  2. 1.2 16 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  3. 0.2 17 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  4. 2.0 21 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  5. 2.2 1 km WSW of Parkfield, CA
  6. 2.2 10 km SE of Huron, CA
  7. 2.3 21 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  8. 1.6 12 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  9. 1.9 15 km ENE of Kettleman City, CA
  10. 1.8 14 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
  11. 1.8 12 km SW of Cantua Creek, CA
  12. 1.6 17 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  13. 1.6 17 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  14. 2.8 4 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  15. 2.1 22 km NW of Parkfield, 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.