QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 1.6md

Earthquake near King City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in King City in the 24 hours to 4:49 am PST (12:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 14 km (8 mi) E, at 4:39 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near King City

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) northeast of King City, CA, at 3:42 am PST on 8 November 2026 (11:42 UTC), 9.9 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 24 km SE of Pinnacles, CA

3:42 am PST, Nov 8, 2026 · · 9.9 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 28 kmMonterey County 35 kmMerced County 93 kmKings County 108 kmSanta Clara County 114 kmSanta Cruz County 117 kmSan Luis Obispo 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
3:42 am PST on 8 November 2026 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) northeast of King City, CA · earthquakes near King City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
9.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 28 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 3 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 4 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In King City, 24 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: Greenfield.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 42,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 46 km NNW 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 · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 46 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 36.3773, -120.9582. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 28 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 35 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 93 km (58 mi) NNE earthquakes near Merced County
Kings County, CA 108 km (67 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Santa Clara County, CA 114 km (71 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 117 km (73 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.3 0 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 1.3 15 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  3. 1.5 23 km ENE of San Lucas, CA
  4. 2.1 22 km NE of San Lucas, CA
  5. 1.1 12 km ESE of San Ardo, 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.