QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Corralitos, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Corralitos in the 24 hours to 6:54 am PST (14:54 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 20 km (12 mi) ESE, at 12:04 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Corralitos

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Corralitos, CA, at 11:59 am PDT on 13 April 2019 (18:59 UTC), 13 km deep. 288 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km NNE of Corralitos, CA

10 km (6 mi) NNW of Watsonville, CA · 31 km (20 mi) S of San Jose, CA

11:59 am PDT, Apr 13, 2019 · · 13 km deep · released about 720 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Cruz County 19 kmSanta Clara County 25 kmSan Mateo County 68 kmAlameda County 71 kmSan Benito County 78 kmStanislaus County 93 kmMonterey County 96 kmMerced County 97 kmContra Costa County 102 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:59 am PDT on 13 April 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Corralitos, CA · earthquakes near Corralitos
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
288 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Santa Cruz County, 19 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Zayante-Vergeles 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 2707 days ago

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 30 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Corralitos, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Watsonville 12 km, intensity II · Capitola 14 km, intensity II · Live Oak 17 km, intensity II · Morgan Hill 18 km, intensity II · Scotts Valley 20 km, intensity II · Gilroy 20 km, intensity II · Santa Cruz 21 km, intensity II · Los Gatos 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 57 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 33 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 8 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 18 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 32 km N 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 37.0140, -121.7985. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Cruz County, CA 19 km (12 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara County, CA 25 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Mateo County, CA 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near San Mateo County
Alameda County, CA 71 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Alameda County
San Benito County, CA 78 km (48 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Stanislaus County, CA 93 km (58 mi) NE earthquakes near Stanislaus County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.2 8km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
  2. 2.0 8km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
  3. 3.0 3km ESE of Aromas, CA
  4. 1.8 1km NE of Tres Pinos, CA
  5. 1.6 10km N of Boulder Creek, CA
  6. 2.6 9km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  7. 2.7 8km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  8. 2.4 21km NW of Pacific Grove, CA
  9. 1.6 3km E of Aromas, CA
  10. 1.8 15km N of Hollister, CA
  11. 1.8 6km SW of Gilroy, CA
  12. 2.9 10km NNE of Tres Pinos, CA
  13. 2.1 7km WSW of Ridgemark, CA
  14. 1.8 6km W of Hollister, CA
  15. 1.5 3km E of Aromas, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.