Earthquake near Aromas, CA

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.9 quarry blast was recorded 3 km (2 mi) ENE of Aromas, CA, at 1:13 pm PDT on 6 July 2016 (20:13 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

This was on 6 July 2016. The latest near Aromas: M 2.6 on 23 September 2026.

USGS: 2 km ENE of Aromas, California

13 km (8 mi) S of Gilroy, CA · 48 km (30 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA

1:13 pm PDT, Jul 6, 2016 · 2016-07-06 20:13 UTC · -0.1 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

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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: 1:13 pm PDT on 6 July 2016 (2016-07-06 20:13 UTC)
Where: 3 km (2 mi) ENE of Aromas, CA · earthquakes near Aromas
Magnitude: M 1.9 (md)
Depth: -0.1 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Santa Clara County, 37 km N
Nearest mapped fault: San Andreas fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3532 days ago · we first saw it 3532 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Aromas, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Aromas 3 km, intensity II · San Juan Bautista 9 km, intensity II · Interlaken 12 km, intensity II · Gilroy 13 km, intensity II · Watsonville 13 km, intensity II · Prunedale 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 30 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 28 km WNW of this epicentre Oct 18, 1989
6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 24 km N of this epicentre Jul 1, 1911
6.2 Near San Jose, California · 48 km NNW of this epicentre Aug 3, 1903
6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 46 km N of this epicentre Apr 24, 1984
6.1 Near San Jose, California · 38 km NNW of this epicentre Jun 11, 1903

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

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Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Santa Clara County, CA	37 km (23 mi)	N	earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA	37 km (23 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Benito County, CA	57 km (35 mi)	SE	earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA	78 km (48 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA	86 km (53 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Merced County
Alameda County, CA	88 km (54 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Alameda County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.1 9 km E of Gilroy, California 15:04 UTC
1.8 10 km S of Tres Pinos, California 02:40 UTC
1.7 Central California 06:18 UTC
1.7 3 km W of San Juan Bautista, California 02:11 UTC
3.0 18 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California 23:24 UTC
2.9 13 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California 21:01 UTC
2.4 10 km S of Tres Pinos, California 18:20 UTC
1.8 8 km ENE of Morgan Hill, California 18:03 UTC
1.6 10 km S of Tres Pinos, California 17:38 UTC
1.7 11 km S of Tres Pinos, California 11:46 UTC
1.7 11 km S of Tres Pinos, California 11:37 UTC
1.9 3 km ESE of Tres Pinos, California 21:50 UTC
2.0 10 km S of Tres Pinos, California 13:33 UTC
1.6 9 km SSW of Tres Pinos, California 10:23 UTC
2.0 25 km WSW of Volta, California 17:36 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 10:01 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.