Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Gilroy, CA, at 1:37 am PST on 6 January 2020 (09:37 UTC), 3.1 km deep. 250 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km SSW of Gilroy, CA
in Gilroy, CA · 42 km (26 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 1:37 am PST on 6 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Gilroy, CA · earthquakes near Gilroy
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 250 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 30 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Sargent 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 2089 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 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 38 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Gilroy, 5 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: Gilroy 5 km, intensity III · Watsonville 16 km, intensity III · Morgan Hill 20 km, intensity II · Hollister 21 km, intensity II · Prunedale 22 km, intensity II · Salinas 32 km, intensity II · Capitola 32 km, intensity II · Live Oak 35 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 330,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 15,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,000 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 340 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 17 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 32 km NW 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 36.9617, -121.5908. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 30 km (19 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Benito County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Merced County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Alameda County, CA | 81 km (51 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Monterey County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 3km E of Aromas, CA
- 2.1 13km NNE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 9km SW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 12km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.5 9km ENE of San Martin, CA
- 1.6 5km NNW of Moss Landing, CA
- 2.8 10km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.4 10km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 18km W of Los Banos, CA
- 2.3 5km NNW of Aromas, CA
- 1.9 15km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 16km SSE 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.