Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.3md
Earthquake near Avenal, CA
USGS: 9 km NNW of Avenal, CA
85 km (53 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 53 km (33 mi) WSW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 5:56 pm PDT on 29 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) NNW of Avenal, CA · earthquakes near Avenal
- Magnitude
- M 1.3 (md)
- Depth
- 4.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 31 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 6 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 3 days ago
A magnitude 1.3 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) NNW of Avenal, CA, at 5:56 pm PDT on 29 September 2026 (00:56 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Huron, Coalinga, Kettleman City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 330× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.3 about 2.9 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 29,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 21 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 32 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 7 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 36.0807, -120.1640. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| San Benito County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.9 12 km NNE of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 11 km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 2.0 8 km N of Coalinga, CA
- 1.5 3 km N of Cholame, 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.