Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Santa Margarita, CA
USGS: 5 km NE of Santa Margarita, CA
55 km (34 mi) NNW of Santa Maria, CA · 138 km (86 mi) W of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 12:06 pm PDT on 2 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) NE of Santa Margarita, CA · earthquakes near Santa Margarita
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 1.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 11 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Los Osos fault, 22 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 6 hours ago
A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) NE of Santa Margarita, CA, at 12:06 pm PDT on 2 October 2026 (19:06 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Templeton, Paso Robles, Morro Bay, Los Osos.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 27 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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 3,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 46 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 1934 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 42 km NNE 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 35.4188, -120.5635. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 11 km (7 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Monterey County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.