QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Gustine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Gustine in the 24 hours to 3:38 am PST (11:38 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Gustine, CA, at 6:22 am PDT on 30 August 2021 (13:22 UTC), 7.2 km deep.

USGS: 18km SSW of Gustine, CA

69 km (43 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA · 47 km (29 mi) ENE of Gilroy, CA

6:22 am PDT, Aug 30, 2021 · · 7.2 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Merced County 33 kmStanislaus County 51 kmSan Benito County 55 kmSanta Clara County 56 kmSanta Cruz County 84 kmSan Joaquin County 94 kmAlameda County 96 kmMonterey County 98 kmMariposa County 115 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
6:22 am PDT on 30 August 2021 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Gustine, CA · earthquakes near Gustine
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
7.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Merced County, 33 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 4 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 1898 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Gustine, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Los Banos, Newman.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 39 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 48 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 3 km ENE of Tres Pinos, California · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 3 km SW of Gilroy, California · 49 km WSW 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 37.1038, -121.0728. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Merced County, CA 33 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 51 km (32 mi) N earthquakes near Stanislaus County
San Benito County, CA 55 km (34 mi) S earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Clara County, CA 56 km (35 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 84 km (52 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Joaquin County, CA 94 km (58 mi) N earthquakes near San Joaquin County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 15km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
  2. 1.6 8km ENE of Gilroy, CA
  3. 2.4 6km N of Hollister, CA
  4. 1.6 7km WSW of Ridgemark, CA
  5. 1.8 10km ENE of Morgan Hill, CA
  6. 2.1 7km NE of San Martin, CA
  7. 1.9 22km NE of Morgan Hill, CA
  8. 1.5 3km SW of Hollister, CA
  9. 1.9 6km ENE of Hollister, CA
  10. 2.3 6km SSW of Gilroy, CA
  11. 2.1 8km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  12. 1.9 6km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  13. 2.1 12km NNE of Hollister, CA
  14. 2.4 6km NNE of Los Banos, CA
  15. 2.1 5km NNE of Los Banos, 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.