QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Aromas, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Aromas in the 24 hours to 6:16 am PST (14:16 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Aromas, CA, at 9:32 pm PDT on 15 October 2020 (04:32 UTC), 6.3 km deep.

USGS: 3km ESE of Aromas, CA

15 km (9 mi) S of Gilroy, CA · 50 km (31 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA

9:32 pm PDT, Oct 15, 2020 · · 6.3 km deep · released about 58 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aromas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Cruz County 38 kmSanta Clara County 39 kmSan Benito County 55 kmMonterey County 75 kmMerced County 87 kmAlameda County 90 kmSan Mateo County 90 kmStanislaus County 93 kmContra Costa County 120 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
9:32 pm PDT on 15 October 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Aromas, CA · earthquakes near Aromas
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
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 2208 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Aromas, 3 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: Prunedale 12 km, intensity II · Watsonville 13 km, intensity II · Gilroy 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 58 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 29 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 26 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 49 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 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 36.8758, -121.6122. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection 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 87 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

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

  1. 2.4 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  2. 2.2 14km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  3. 1.7 7km SW of Tres Pinos, CA
  4. 1.8 16km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  5. 2.1 3km SW of San Juan Bautista, CA
  6. 1.8 4km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  7. 1.6 3km E of Aromas, CA
  8. 1.8 6km WSW of Gilroy, CA
  9. 2.1 16km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.1 14km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  11. 1.7 7km WSW of Gilroy, CA
  12. 2.8 6km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
  13. 1.8 4km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
  14. 3.0 5km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  15. 3.3 4km S of San Juan Bautista, 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.