Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Milpitas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Milpitas in the 24 hours to 3:00 am PST (11:00 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (5 mi) NNE, at 5:49 am PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Milpitas
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Milpitas, CA, at 1:38 am PDT on 30 September 2020 (08:38 UTC), 9.3 km deep. 27 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km NNE of Milpitas, CA
25 km (15 mi) NNW of San Jose, CA · 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Fremont, CA
- When
- 1:38 am PDT on 30 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Milpitas, CA · earthquakes near Milpitas
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 9.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 27 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Alameda County, 15 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hayward fault, 3 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 2158 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Milpitas, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Milpitas, 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Milpitas, 10 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: Milpitas 10 km, intensity II · Fremont 11 km, intensity II · Newark 15 km, intensity II · Union City 16 km, intensity II · Pleasanton 17 km, intensity II · Santa Clara 19 km, intensity II · San Jose 20 km, intensity II · Livermore 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 4.5 on 2019-10-15 — about 580 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 28 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 35 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 7 km NNW of Boulder Creek, California · 44 km SW 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 37.5140, -121.8698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 15 km (9 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | N | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 4km ENE of Walnut Creek, CA
- 3.0 8km NE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.8 9km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.8 10km ESE of Livermore, CA
- 2.1 9km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 2.0 14km SE of Livermore, CA
- 2.1 2km SSW of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 2.8 3km S of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 1.8 2km S of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 2.6 16km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 1.9 2km NNE of San Leandro, CA
- 1.5 8km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.7 10km NNE of San Martin, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.7 7km N of Day Valley, 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.