Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Salinas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 3:42 am PST (11:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 5:38 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salinas
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) northwest of Salinas, CA, at 11:42 pm PST on 30 November 2020 (07:42 UTC), 8.4 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km SW of Moss Landing, CA
58 km (36 mi) S of San Jose, CA · 17 km (11 mi) SSW of Watsonville, CA
- When
- 11:42 pm PST on 30 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) northwest of Salinas, CA · earthquakes near Salinas
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 31 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- East Monterey Bay 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 2163 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salinas, 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Salinas, 18 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 14 km, intensity II · Watsonville 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 4.2 on 2016-07-19 — about 710 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 29 km N of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 41 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 49 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 47 km N 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 36.7758, -121.8218. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 75 km (46 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 86 km (54 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | N | earthquakes near Alameda County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 10km ENE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 2.0 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.8 9km ENE of Gilroy, CA
- 1.7 2km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.0 1km NNE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of Interlaken, CA
- 1.7 6km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.2 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 10km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 3km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.9 12km ESE of Gilroy, CA
- 1.8 12km ESE of Gilroy, CA
- 1.6 16km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.7 9km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 1.9 12km ESE of Gilroy, 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.