M2.0 earthquake 9 km SSW of Avenal, California

Magnitude

2.0 (Md, duration), micro

Magnitude from

Northern California Seismic System

Local time

Sun, Aug 20, 1978, 12:34 PM PDT

UTC

1978-08-20 19:34:19 UTC

Depth

13.9 km (8.6 mi), shallow

Epicenter

35.923° N, 120.153° W

Region

California

Tsunami flag

No

Status

Reviewed by a seismologist

Location uncertainty

About 2.4 km horizontally, 1.2 km in depth

Magnitude uncertainty

±0.14

Depth from

From location

Station coverage gap

279°, poorly surrounded by stations

Stations used

9

• Avenal, CaliforniaPopulation 13,301. Forecast9 kmSSW
• Visalia, CaliforniaPopulation 130,104. Forecast90 kmWSW
• Los Angeles, CaliforniaPopulation 3,820,914. Forecast271 kmNW

After

1. 1.814 km SE of Parkfield, CaliforniaFri, Aug 25, 2:54 AM PDT · 17573 days ago · 8 km deep · 22 km away
2. 2.711km ENE of Kettleman City, CAMon, Aug 28, 11:25 PM PDT · 17569 days ago · 6 km deep · 31 km away
3. 1.513 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaSun, Sep 3, 3:24 PM PDT · 17563 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
4. 2.522 km ENE of San Ardo, CaliforniaMon, Sep 4, 7:41 PM PDT · 17562 days ago · 6 km deep · 53 km away
5. 2.222 km ENE of San Lucas, CaliforniaMon, Sep 4, 7:45 PM PDT · 17562 days ago · 9 km deep · 69 km away
6. 1.814 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaTue, Sep 5, 4:06 PM PDT · 17561 days ago · 5 km deep · 36 km away
7. 1.713 km WSW of Cayucos, CaliforniaWed, Sep 6, 3:53 AM PDT · 17561 days ago · 4 km deep · 99 km away
8. 2.125 km NNE of King City, CaliforniaWed, Sep 6, 7:37 AM PDT · 17561 days ago · 1 km deep · 91 km away
9. 1.623 km NE of King City, CaliforniaFri, Sep 8, 1:24 AM PDT · 17559 days ago · 2 km deep · 84 km away
10. 2.017 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaFri, Sep 8, 9:01 AM PDT · 17559 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
11. 2.26 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaWed, Sep 13, 7:22 PM PDT · 17553 days ago · 10 km deep · 30 km away
12. 1.66 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaWed, Sep 13, 7:24 PM PDT · 17553 days ago · 10 km deep · 30 km away
13. 2.5Central CaliforniaSun, Sep 17, 8:53 AM PDT · 17550 days ago · 1 km deep · 98 km away
14. 1.55 km ENE of Garden Farms, CaliforniaMon, Sep 18, 5:25 PM PDT · 17548 days ago · 4 km deep · 65 km away
15. 2.125 km WSW of Coalinga, CaliforniaTue, Sep 19, 4:30 PM PDT · 17547 days ago · 2 km deep · 46 km away
16. 1.910 km NNW of Parkfield, CaliforniaWed, Sep 20, 1:55 AM PDT · 17547 days ago · 13 km deep · 31 km away
17. 2.023 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaThu, Sep 21, 12:34 AM PDT · 17546 days ago · 3 km deep · 44 km away
18. 1.623 km NNE of San Lucas, CaliforniaSat, Sep 23, 1:45 PM PDT · 17543 days ago · 6 km deep · 79 km away
19. 1.818 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaMon, Sep 25, 12:57 PM PDT · 17541 days ago · 2 km deep · 40 km away
20. 1.616 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaMon, Sep 25, 7:57 PM PDT · 17541 days ago · 3 km deep · 39 km away
21. 1.522 km ENE of San Lucas, CaliforniaTue, Sep 26, 4:53 AM PDT · 17541 days ago · 5 km deep · 67 km away
22. 1.85 km NE of Garden Farms, CaliforniaFri, Sep 29, 4:38 PM PDT · 17537 days ago · 0 km deep · 64 km away
23. 2.514 km NNE of Shandon, CaliforniaFri, Sep 29, 9:15 PM PDT · 17537 days ago · 9 km deep · 22 km away
24. 2.318km E of Cholame, CAWed, Oct 11, 9:11 PM PDT · 17525 days ago · 6 km deep · 21 km away
25. 1.912 km W of Oak Shores, CaliforniaFri, Oct 13, 5:41 PM PDT · 17523 days ago · 9 km deep · 88 km away

Before

1. 1.922 km NE of San Lucas, CaliforniaSat, Aug 19, 3:33 PM PDT · 17578 days ago · 6 km deep · 74 km away
2. 2.911km SSW of Lemoore Station, CAFri, Aug 18, 7:49 AM PDT · 17580 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
3. 2.323 km NNE of San Lucas, CaliforniaWed, Aug 16, 10:43 PM PDT · 17581 days ago · 6 km deep · 78 km away
4. 2.18 km SSW of Avenal, CaliforniaMon, Aug 14, 11:26 PM PDT · 17583 days ago · 14 km deep · 1 km away
5. 2.010 km SSW of Avenal, CaliforniaMon, Aug 14, 11:15 PM PDT · 17583 days ago · 14 km deep · 2 km away
6. 1.523 km NNE of San Lucas, CaliforniaMon, Aug 14, 7:59 PM PDT · 17583 days ago · 4 km deep · 79 km away
7. 1.821 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaFri, Aug 11, 5:23 PM PDT · 17586 days ago · 4 km deep · 42 km away
8. 1.62 km SSE of Parkfield, CaliforniaMon, Aug 7, 12:22 PM PDT · 17591 days ago · 10 km deep · 25 km away
9. 1.64 km NE of Bradley, CaliforniaSat, Aug 5, 3:43 AM PDT · 17593 days ago · 10 km deep · 55 km away
10. 1.821 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaSat, Aug 5, 2:26 AM PDT · 17593 days ago · 2 km deep · 42 km away
11. 1.621 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaThu, Aug 3, 11:51 PM PDT · 17594 days ago · 4 km deep · 42 km away
12. 2.818 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaWed, Aug 2, 7:59 AM PDT · 17596 days ago · 5 km deep · 40 km away
13. 1.98 km WSW of San Miguel, CaliforniaTue, Aug 1, 5:48 AM PDT · 17597 days ago · 5 km deep · 61 km away
14. 1.719 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaFri, Jul 28, 2:15 AM PDT · 17601 days ago · 5 km deep · 40 km away
15. 1.711 km NNE of Cayucos, CaliforniaSun, Jul 23, 8:37 PM PDT · 17605 days ago · 5 km deep · 76 km away
16. 1.99 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaSun, Jul 23, 8:34 AM PDT · 17606 days ago · 7 km deep · 32 km away
17. 3.29 km NW of Parkfield, CaliforniaSun, Jul 23, 7:38 AM PDT · 17606 days ago · 7 km deep · 32 km away

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc1041780. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:11 AM UTC.