Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Gustine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Gustine in the 24 hours to 3:48 am PST (11:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 23 km (14 mi) WSW, at 9:18 pm PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 9 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gustine
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Gustine, CA, at 5:38 pm PDT on 11 September 2020 (00:38 UTC), 4.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 20km SW of Gustine, CA
64 km (40 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA · 42 km (26 mi) ENE of Gilroy, CA
- When
- 5:38 pm PDT on 11 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Gustine, CA · earthquakes near Gustine
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 4.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Merced County, 37 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Ortigalita fault, under 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 2242 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gustine, CA
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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 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Gustine, 20 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Newman, Los Banos.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 45 km W of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 45 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California · 37 km SSW 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 37.1130, -121.1262. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Alameda County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | NW | 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.
- 1.8 4km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 3km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.8 6km WSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.7 7km WSW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.8 6km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.8 4km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 3.0 5km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 3.3 4km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.1 4km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 30km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.1 32km NE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 8km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 3km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 7km S of Gilroy, CA
- 2.1 6km SE 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.