QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Gonzales, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Gonzales in the 24 hours to 2:26 am PST (10:26 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south of Gonzales, CA, at 5:41 pm PDT on 1 June 2020 (00:41 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 6km S of Gonzales, CA

100 km (62 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA · 32 km (20 mi) SE of Salinas, CA

5:41 pm PDT, Jun 1, 2020 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monterey County 26 kmSan Benito County 36 kmSanta Cruz County 81 kmSanta Clara County 88 kmMerced County 104 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
5:41 pm PDT on 1 June 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) south of Gonzales, CA · earthquakes near Gonzales
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monterey County, 26 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Monterey Bay- Tularcitos fault, 12 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 2348 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Gonzales, 6 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 10 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 38,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 36 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 29 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 39 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 28 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California · 41 km NNE 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 36.4540, -121.4323. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monterey County, CA 26 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Monterey County
San Benito County, CA 36 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA 81 km (50 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara County, CA 88 km (55 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Merced County, CA 104 km (64 mi) NE earthquakes near Merced County
San Mateo County, CA 136 km (84 mi) NW earthquakes near San Mateo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 11km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  2. 1.7 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  3. 1.8 4km N of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 2.1 2km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  5. 1.8 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  6. 1.9 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  7. 2.0 23km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 2.6 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  9. 2.0 7km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.1 6km E of Tres Pinos, CA
  11. 1.5 7km SSW of Ridgemark, CA
  12. 2.2 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  13. 2.1 7km SSW of Ridgemark, CA
  14. 1.8 7km SSW of Ridgemark, CA
  15. 2.6 2km SW of Ridgemark, 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.