Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Aromas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Aromas in the 24 hours to 5:56 am PST (13:56 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 11 km (7 mi) SE, at 2:11 am PST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aromas
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Aromas, CA, at 2:58 am PST on 13 January 2020 (10:58 UTC), 6.7 km deep. 131 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km ESE of Aromas, CA
15 km (9 mi) S of Gilroy, CA · 50 km (31 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 2:58 am PST on 13 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Aromas, CA · earthquakes near Aromas
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 131 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 38 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 2125 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Aromas, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Aromas, 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Aromas, 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: Prunedale 12 km, intensity III · Watsonville 14 km, intensity III · Gilroy 15 km, intensity III · Hollister 19 km, intensity III · Salinas 22 km, intensity II · Morgan Hill 29 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 2,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 2,000 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× more
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 180 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 29 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 26 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 38 km ESE 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 36.8762, -121.6100. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 86 km (54 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Alameda County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 7km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 12km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 15km N of Morgan Hill, CA
- 2.1 5km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.8 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 2km E of Aromas, CA
- 2.1 11km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.9 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.6 12km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 12km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 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
- 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.