QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Alpaugh, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Alpaugh in the 24 hours to 12:50 am PST (08:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 46 km (29 mi) WNW, at 6:21 am PDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Alpaugh

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) west of Alpaugh, CA, at 11:06 pm PDT on 6 August 2026 (06:06 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: 18 km W of Alpaugh, CA

98 km (61 mi) S of Fresno, CA · 41 km (25 mi) WNW of Delano, CA

11:06 pm PDT, Aug 6, 2026 · · 22 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 22 kmTulare County 89 kmSan Luis Obispo County 90 kmFresno County 95 kmKern County 106 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
11:06 pm PDT on 6 August 2026 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) west of Alpaugh, CA · earthquakes near Alpaugh
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 22 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 24 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 86 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Alpaugh, 18 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: Corcoran, Kettleman City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 35.9027, -119.6838. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 22 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
Tulare County, CA 89 km (55 mi) ENE earthquakes near Tulare County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 90 km (56 mi) SW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 95 km (59 mi) N earthquakes near Fresno County
Kern County, CA 106 km (66 mi) SE earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 13 km S of Kettleman City, CA
  2. 1.6 27 km NNE of Simmler, CA
  3. 1.7 33 km NNE of Simmler, CA
  4. 1.6 33 km NNE of Simmler, CA
  5. 1.4 11 km NNW of Avenal, CA
  6. 2.3 9 km W of Corcoran, CA
  7. 1.8 8 km W of McFarland, CA
  8. 1.3 9 km NNW of Avenal, CA
  9. 2.2 10 km SE of Huron, CA
  10. 1.9 15 km ENE of Kettleman City, CA
  11. 2.6 11 km NNW of Corcoran, CA
  12. 2.9 8 km WNW of Corcoran, CA
  13. 2.5 7 km NW of Avenal, 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.