Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Gilroy, CA
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Gilroy in the last 24 hours. M 1.6, 9 km (5 mi) E of Gilroy, at 1:22 am PST on 12 November 2026 (09:22 UTC); the estimated shaking in Gilroy was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Gilroy
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Gilroy, CA, at 9:01 pm PDT on 20 September 2018 (04:01 UTC), 7.8 km deep.
USGS: 8km ENE of Gilroy, CA
9 km (6 mi) ENE of Gilroy, CA · 40 km (25 mi) SE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 9:01 pm PDT on 20 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Gilroy, CA · earthquakes near Gilroy
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 7.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 26 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 2974 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gilroy, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Gilroy, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Gilroy, 8 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: Gilroy 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 6,900 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 · 35 km W of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 15 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 40 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 32 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 37.0437, -121.4912. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Benito County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Merced County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| Alameda County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda 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.
- 1.8 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.7 8km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.8 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.1 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.0 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.5 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.5 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of Gilroy, CA
- 2.6 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.0 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.9 13km S of Tres Pinos, 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.