Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2md
Earthquake near San Martin, CA
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in San Martin in the last 24 hours. M 2.6, 22 km (14 mi) S of San Martin, at 11:40 am PST on 12 November 2026 (19:40 UTC); the estimated shaking in San Martin was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near San Martin
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) northeast of San Martin, CA, at 5:49 am PDT on 21 August 2018 (12:49 UTC), 8.1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km NE of San Martin, CA
15 km (9 mi) NNE of Gilroy, CA · 31 km (19 mi) SE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 5:49 am PDT on 21 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) northeast of San Martin, CA · earthquakes near San Martin
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 8.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 17 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras fault, 2 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 3005 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Martin, 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In San Martin, 9 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: Morgan Hill 11 km, intensity II · Gilroy 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 64 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 15× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 64 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 4.1 on 2017-10-10 — about 640 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 33 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 10 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 25 km WNW 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 37.1308, -121.5295. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 17 km (11 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 44 km (28 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Alameda County, CA | 67 km (41 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| San Benito County, CA | 70 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Merced County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | E | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 12km ESE of Gilroy, CA
- 1.9 12km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 1.6 7km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.1 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 2.1 10km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.7 8km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.5 16km SSE of Livermore, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of Gilroy, CA
- 2.7 8km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.5 9km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.8 15km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.8 7km ENE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 2.6 5km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.0 2km SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.8 5km WNW of San Juan Bautista, 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.