California earthquakes

M2.5 earthquake 11km NW of Pinnacles, CA

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 11km NW of Pinnacles, CA on Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 5:25 PM PST (01:25 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.3 10km NW of Pinnacles, CA. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
2.5 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
2020-12-20 01:25:31 UTC
Depth
5.9 km (3.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.614° N, 121.217° W
Felt reports
3
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
2.46Md, durationNorthern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · ±0.167 · 71 stations
2.2ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed · ±0.069 · 28 stations

Did you feel it?

3 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.1 km horizontally, 0.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.17
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
66°
Stations used
54

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 151 in the 60 days after this one and 45 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 151.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc73500570 (also filed as us7000csk0). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:55 PM UTC.