Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Milpitas, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Milpitas in the 24 hours to 4:37 am PST (12:37 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) northeast of Milpitas, CA, at 2:04 am PDT on 3 July 2021 (09:04 UTC), 7.6 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km NE of Milpitas, CA
20 km (13 mi) N of San Jose, CA · 7 km (5 mi) NE of Milpitas, CA
- When
- 2:04 am PDT on 3 July 2021 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) northeast of Milpitas, CA · earthquakes near Milpitas
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 7.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Alameda County, 20 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras 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 1958 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Milpitas, 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Milpitas, 9 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 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 4.3 on 2019-07-16 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 49 km S of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 20 km S of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 23 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 31 km S 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 37.4780, -121.8292. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 20 km (13 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 71 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
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.0 3km N of San Leandro, CA
- 1.5 10km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.1 2km E of Hayward, CA
- 1.8 5km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 1.9 4km SW of Newark, CA
- 2.5 9km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.7 5km NW of Dublin, CA
- 1.5 3km NNW of Union City, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of Dublin, CA
- 2.4 9km ESE of Fremont, CA
- 1.5 6km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 3.1 6km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 2.3 8km ESE of Fremont, CA
- 2.9 10km NE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.8 1km NW of Diablo, 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.