QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Hollister, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Hollister in the last 24 hours. M 2.0, 14 km (9 mi) WSW of Hollister, at 2:11 am PST on 11 November 2026 (10:11 UTC); the estimated shaking in Hollister was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Hollister

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) north of Hollister, CA, at 9:18 am PDT on 20 September 2022 (16:18 UTC), 9.3 km deep.

USGS: 8km N of Hollister, CA

56 km (35 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 20 km (12 mi) ESE of Gilroy, CA

9:18 am PDT, Sep 20, 2022 · · 9.3 km deep · released about 77 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Clara County 43 kmSan Benito County 44 kmSanta Cruz County 56 kmMerced County 66 kmMonterey County 76 kmStanislaus County 79 kmAlameda County 93 kmSan Mateo County 103 kmSan Joaquin County 113 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
9:18 am PDT on 20 September 2022 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) north of Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
9.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Clara County, 43 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Calaveras fault, 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 1513 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 Hollister, 8 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: Hollister 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 77 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 77 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 4,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 26 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 28 km W 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 36.9228, -121.3897. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Clara County, CA 43 km (26 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Benito County, CA 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA 56 km (35 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Merced County, CA 66 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Monterey County, CA 76 km (47 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County
Stanislaus County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus 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.

  1. 2.0 23km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  2. 2.1 16km E of Seven Trees, CA
  3. 1.5 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
  4. 2.0 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
  5. 2.4 16km E of Seven Trees, CA
  6. 1.5 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
  7. 2.9 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
  8. 5.1 15km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
  9. 2.1 20km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 1.6 9km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  11. 1.7 26km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 1.6 9km ENE of San Martin, CA
  13. 2.6 9km ENE of San Martin, CA
  14. 1.8 6km ENE of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.7 14km SSE of Tres Pinos, 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.