A 3.3-magnitude earthquake hit Northern California Monday evening near Los Banos, about 30 miles from San Jose. No damage reported from minor temblor.

The magnitude scale is the most common way to measure the size of an earthquake. USGS uses what's caused the moment magnitude scale to measure earthquakes.

The moment magnitude scale is logarithmic — that is, each whole number of magnitude represents about a 30-fold increase in energy released.

The moment magnitude scale, as it is known, replaced one developed by an American seismologist, Charles Richter, that was used until the 1970s.

Using the Moment Magnitude Scale, for each full number of magnitude you graduate to on the scale, the force of the earthquake is 32 times that of the previous whole number.

Scientists largely use the moment magnitude scale to categorize earthquakes’ strength and size in a way that’s more accurate than the long-used Richter scale, the US Geological Survey says.

The moment magnitude scale, which builds upon Richter’s ideas, measures the energy released at the earthquake’s source. Unlike the Richter Scale, which was best suited for small, ...

Both quakes exceeded 2.5 on the moment magnitude scale, which measures the strength of an earthquake.Anything less than 2.5 is generally not felt, but people may notice at least a tremor or find ...

This quake registered 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale, which is used to measure the amount of energy released during an earthquake and the distance the ground moves along a fault.

In fact, the Richter scale was replaced in the 1970s by other magnitude scales that are more accurate. Even though it’s outdated, the term is still used often when discussing earthquakes.

Scientists largely use the moment magnitude scale to categorize earthquakes’ strength and size in a way that’s more accurate than the long-used Richter scale, the US Geological Survey says.