Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8md
Earthquake near Gonzales, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Gonzales in the 24 hours to 5:00 am PST (13:00 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 21 km (13 mi) NE, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Gonzales
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) south-southwest of Gonzales, CA, at 4:41 pm PST on 1 January 2019 (00:41 UTC), 8.1 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16km SSW of Gonzales, CA
38 km (23 mi) SSE of Salinas, CA · 107 km (66 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 4:41 pm PST on 1 January 2019 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) south-southwest of Gonzales, CA · earthquakes near Gonzales
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (md)
- Depth
- 8.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Monterey County, 22 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Monterey Bay- Tularcitos 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 2787 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gonzales, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Gonzales, 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Gonzales, 16 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: Soledad 17 km, intensity II · Greenfield 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 470 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 40 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.2 5 km SSW of Spreckels, California · 28 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 36.3683, -121.4990. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County, CA | 22 km (14 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 12km S of Point Sur, CA
- 2.5 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 10km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.5 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 16km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 10km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 10km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.3 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 5km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 9km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.6 16km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.0 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 12km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 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.