QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 6:47 pm PST (02:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) east of Soledad, CA, at 2:37 pm PDT on 30 August 2026 (21:37 UTC), 5.3 km deep.

USGS: 19 km W of New Idria, CA

2:37 pm PDT, Aug 30, 2026 · · 5.3 km deep · released about 23 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Soledad Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 27 kmMonterey County 44 kmMerced County 87 kmKings County 104 kmSanta Clara County 114 kmFresno County 116 kmSanta Cruz County 119 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
2:37 pm PDT on 30 August 2026 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) east of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 27 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 9 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 64 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 39 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 23 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 23 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 2019-10-15 — about 15,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 17 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 47 km NW 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 36.4242, -120.8867. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 27 km (17 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 44 km (27 mi) WSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 87 km (54 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Kings County, CA 104 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Santa Clara County, CA 114 km (71 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Fresno County, CA 116 km (72 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.4 16 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 2.5 5 km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 0.3 22 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  4. 1.8 11 km SSW of San Lucas, CA
  5. 1.5 11 km E of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 1.9 5 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 2.3 10 km SSE of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 1.5 5 km N of Pinnacles, CA
  9. 2.5 10 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.4 7 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  11. 1.3 22 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 2.5 12 km NNE of San Lucas, CA
  13. 1.4 8 km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  14. 1.4 25 km NW of Parkfield, CA
  15. 0.5 23 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.