Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Hollister, CA
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Hollister in the last 24 hours. M 2.6, 21 km (13 mi) WNW of Hollister, at 11:40 am PST on 12 November 2026 (19:40 UTC); the estimated shaking in Hollister was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Hollister
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Hollister, CA, at 10:07 am PDT on 3 August 2018 (17:07 UTC), 8.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12km NNW of Hollister, CA
52 km (32 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 15 km (9 mi) ESE of Gilroy, CA
- When
- 10:07 am PDT on 3 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 38 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras fault, 1 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 3019 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hollister, CA
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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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Hollister, 11 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: Gilroy, San Juan Bautista, Ridgemark, Aromas, San Martin, Interlaken.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 4.6 on 2017-11-13 — about 25,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 26 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 43 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 30 km SE 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 36.9477, -121.4313. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Merced County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| Monterey County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | S | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 4km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 4km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 12km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.5 8km E of Chualar, CA
- 2.0 4km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 7km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 13km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.4 8km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.7 22km NNE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.7 21km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.9 9km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 8km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 10km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.7 10km NW of Pinnacles, 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.