California earthquakes

M2.5 earthquake 13km NW of Pinnacles, CA

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 13km NW of Pinnacles, CA on Sat, Jan 2, 2021, 8:33 PM PST (04:33 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.2 4km SE of Aromas, 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
2021-01-03 04:33:15 UTC
Depth
6.0 km (3.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.620° N, 121.231° W
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
2.54Md, durationNorthern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · ±0.175 · 71 stations
2.2ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed · ±0.105 · 12 stations

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.2 km horizontally, 0.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.17
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
66°
Stations used
58

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 144 in the 60 days after this one and 75 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 144.

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc73506395 (also filed as us6000d56u). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 3:14 PM UTC.