Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Lake Nacimiento, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lake Nacimiento in the 24 hours to 5:46 pm PST (01:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 13 km (8 mi) W, at 5:04 pm PDT on 21 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lake Nacimiento
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) west of Lake Nacimiento, CA, at 4:08 pm PDT on 21 September 2026 (23:08 UTC), 5.2 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 12 km W of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- When
- 4:08 pm PDT on 21 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 12 km (8 mi) west of Lake Nacimiento, CA · earthquakes near Lake Nacimiento
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 63 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Simeon fault, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 52 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lake Nacimiento, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lake Nacimiento, CA. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake Nacimiento, 12 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: Cambria 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 220 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 70,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 50,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 220 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 1,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 10 km NE of San Simeon, California · 8 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 28km NW of Cambria, CA · 28 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 Southwest of Cambria, California · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.2 26km NNW of Lake Nacimiento, CA · 26 km N 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 35.7215, -121.0177. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Kings County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.2 15 km SW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.1 12 km ESE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.8 10 km S of San Lucas, CA
- 1.7 13 km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 1.5 13 km NE of San Simeon, CA
- 0.6 10 km WNW of Bradley, CA
- 2.1 5 km SSE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.8 14 km N of San Simeon, CA
- 1.8 6 km SE of San Ardo, CA
- 1.5 10 km SSW of San Lucas, CA
- 1.8 10 km SSW of San Lucas, CA
- 1.0 7 km SW of Atascadero, CA
- 1.3 14 km WSW of Lake Nacimiento, CA
- 2.0 15 km ENE of San Simeon, CA
- 0.9 17 km NNE 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
- 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.