QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Gilroy, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Gilroy in the last 24 hours. M 1.6, 9 km (5 mi) E of Gilroy, at 1:22 am PST on 12 November 2026 (09:22 UTC); the estimated shaking in Gilroy was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Gilroy

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Gilroy, CA, at 9:08 am PDT on 13 July 2022 (16:08 UTC), 4.6 km deep. 62 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 10km ESE of Gilroy, CA

11 km (7 mi) ESE of Gilroy, CA · 47 km (29 mi) SE of San Jose, CA

9:08 am PDT, Jul 13, 2022 · · 4.6 km deep · released about 800 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Clara County 33 kmSanta Cruz County 48 kmSan Benito County 53 kmMerced County 70 kmStanislaus County 76 kmMonterey County 84 kmAlameda County 84 kmSan Mateo County 94 kmSan Joaquin County 107 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
9:08 am PDT on 13 July 2022 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Gilroy, CA · earthquakes near Gilroy
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
4.6 km below the surface
Felt
62 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Santa Clara County, 33 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Calaveras 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 1510 days ago

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 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Gilroy, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Gilroy 10 km, intensity III · Hollister 16 km, intensity III · Morgan Hill 24 km, intensity II · Watsonville 27 km, intensity II · Prunedale 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 420,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 13,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 800 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 440 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 37 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 21 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 38 km NW 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 36.9828, -121.4640. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Clara County, CA 33 km (21 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 48 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Benito County, CA 53 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Merced County, CA 70 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 76 km (47 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Monterey County, CA 84 km (52 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  2. 1.5 7km NE of San Martin, CA
  3. 1.7 2km ENE of Aromas, CA
  4. 2.9 5km N of Hollister, CA
  5. 3.0 10km E of Alum Rock, CA
  6. 1.9 10km E of Alum Rock, CA
  7. 1.5 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  8. 1.8 16km E of Seven Trees, CA
  9. 1.6 16km E of Seven Trees, CA
  10. 2.9 7km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  11. 1.7 2km ENE of Aromas, CA
  12. 1.9 6km SSW of Gilroy, CA
  13. 1.7 9km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  14. 2.1 5km S of San Juan Bautista, CA
  15. 1.7 2km E of Aromas, 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.