Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Aromas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Aromas in the 24 hours to 6:31 am PST (14:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 11 km (7 mi) SE, at 2:11 am PST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aromas
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Aromas, CA, at 12:51 am PDT on 2 July 2018 (07:51 UTC), 7.9 km deep.
USGS: 6km NNW of Aromas, CA
10 km (6 mi) E of Watsonville, CA · 42 km (26 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 12:51 am PDT on 2 July 2018 ()
- Where
- 6 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Aromas, CA · earthquakes near Aromas
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 32 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Sargent fault, 5 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 3055 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Aromas, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Aromas, 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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Aromas, 6 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Interlaken, Pajaro, Watsonville, Las Lomas, Amesti, Gilroy.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 12,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 32 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 22 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 20 km N 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
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 32 km NNW 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, -121.6633. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 32 km (20 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 | 63 km (39 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Alameda County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Monterey County, CA | 83 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
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6km SW of Ridgemark, CA
- 2.2 9km NE of San Martin, CA
- 2.5 15km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 2.7 5km ESE of Aromas, CA
- 1.5 8km ENE of Gilroy, CA
- 2.0 5km ESE of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 10km NNE of Hollister, CA
- 1.7 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.5 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.7 6km SW of Ridgemark, CA
- 1.6 12km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 1.9 9km E of Gilroy, CA
- 2.0 9km ENE of San Martin, CA
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.