Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Gilroy, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Gilroy in the 24 hours to 1:34 pm PST (21:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 9 km (6 mi) E, at 7:27 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gilroy
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Gilroy, CA, at 10:27 am PST on 24 January 2023 (18:27 UTC), 4.7 km deep.
USGS: 6km SW of Gilroy, CA
5 km (3 mi) SW of Gilroy, CA · 40 km (25 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 10:27 am PST on 24 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Gilroy, CA · earthquakes near Gilroy
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 29 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Sargent 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 1385 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gilroy, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Gilroy, 6 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: Gilroy 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 5.1 on 2022-10-25 — about 190,000 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 · 24 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 16 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 30 km NNW 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 36.9698, -121.6243. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Benito County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Alameda County, CA | 80 km (49 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 83 km (51 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Merced County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.8 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.9 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.3 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.5 11km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.8 13km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.2 10km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.2 10km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 3.2 10km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.5 2km ESE of Aromas, CA
- 2.1 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 1.9 9km NE of Corralitos, CA
- 1.8 1km SSE of Ridgemark, CA
- 1.8 13km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.8 6km NW of Pacific Grove, 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.