Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0md
Earthquake near Interlaken, CA
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Interlaken in the last 24 hours. M 2.6, 11 km (7 mi) SE of Interlaken, at 11:40 am PST on 12 November 2026 (19:40 UTC); the estimated shaking in Interlaken was intensity III (weak). Every earthquake near Interlaken
This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Interlaken, CA, at 9:15 am PDT on 16 March 2017 (16:15 UTC), 11 km deep. 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km ESE of Interlaken, California
8 km (5 mi) E of Watsonville, CA · 42 km (26 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 9:15 am PDT on 16 March 2017 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Interlaken, CA · earthquakes near Interlaken
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 16 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 30 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Zayante-Vergeles fault, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3405 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Interlaken, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Interlaken, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Interlaken, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Watsonville 7 km, intensity III · Gilroy 13 km, intensity III · Prunedale 18 km, intensity II · Morgan Hill 22 km, intensity II · Capitola 25 km, intensity II · Hollister 27 km, intensity II · Live Oak 27 km, intensity II · Salinas 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 890 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 380,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 17,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 890 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-07-19 — about 72 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 34 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 20 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 42 km N of this epicentre
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
Epicentre 36.9360, -121.6807. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 30 km (19 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 32 km (20 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Monterey County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 5 km ESE of Aromas, California
- 1.6 0 km N of Pacific Grove, California
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Aromas, California
- 1.6 5 km S of Gilroy, California
- 1.6 17 km SSE of Tres Pinos, California
- 2.0 2 km ESE of Aromas, California
- 1.9 2 km ESE of Aromas, California
- 1.7 5 km WNW of San Juan Bautista, California
- 2.0 7 km E of East Foothills, California
- 2.4 4 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California
- 1.5 Central California
- 1.7 9 km ESE of East Foothills, California
- 1.7 5 km ESE of Aromas, California
- 2.9 3 km ESE of Aromas, California
- 1.9 3 km WSW of San Juan Bautista, California
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . 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.