QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) northeast of Hollister, CA, at 3:32 am PDT on 29 September 2023 (10:32 UTC), 3.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 25 km NE of Hollister, CA

63 km (39 mi) ESE of San Jose, CA · 34 km (21 mi) E of Gilroy, CA

3:32 am PDT, Sep 29, 2023 · · 3.1 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 45 kmMerced County 47 kmSanta Clara County 50 kmStanislaus County 64 kmSanta Cruz County 72 kmMonterey County 86 kmAlameda County 95 kmSan Joaquin County 103 kmSan Mateo 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
3:32 am PDT on 29 September 2023 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) northeast of Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
3.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
San Benito County, 45 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Ortigalita fault, 7 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 1108 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 Hollister, 25 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: Ridgemark.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 50,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 31 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 45 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 38 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 30 km WNW 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 37.0065, -121.2005. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 45 km (28 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Benito County
Merced County, CA 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Santa Clara County, CA 50 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Stanislaus County, CA 64 km (40 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Santa Cruz County, CA 72 km (45 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Monterey County, CA 86 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.7 25 km SSW of Los Banos, CA
  2. 1.7 2 km ENE of Aromas, CA
  3. 2.4 9 km ENE of Gilroy, CA
  4. 1.5 9 km E of Gilroy, CA
  5. 1.6 9 km E of Gilroy, CA
  6. 1.5 4 km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
  7. 2.5 5 km SE of Aromas, CA
  8. 1.7 13 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  9. 1.8 9 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  10. 1.6 16 km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  11. 1.8 14 km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  12. 2.0 24 km SSW of Gustine, CA
  13. 1.8 2 km E of Aromas, CA
  14. 1.5 5 km N of Pinnacles, CA
  15. 1.8 4 km N of Pinnacles, 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.