Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Interlaken, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Interlaken in the 24 hours to 2:35 am PST (10:35 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 15 km (9 mi) SE, at 6:10 am PDT on 26 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Interlaken
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Interlaken, CA, at 10:38 am PST on 16 January 2024 (18:38 UTC), 11 km deep. 287 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km ESE of Interlaken, CA
8 km (5 mi) E of Watsonville, CA · 42 km (26 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 10:38 am PST on 16 January 2024 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Interlaken, CA · earthquakes near Interlaken
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 287 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 30 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Zayante-Vergeles 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 792 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Interlaken, 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 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 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. In Interlaken, 5 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: Watsonville 7 km, intensity III · Gilroy 13 km, intensity III · Prunedale 18 km, intensity III · Morgan Hill 22 km, intensity II · Capitola 24 km, intensity II · Live Oak 27 km, intensity II · Hollister 27 km, intensity II · Salinas 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 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.7× more
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 450 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 34 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 20 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 42 km N 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 36.9350, -121.6865. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 30 km (19 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 32 km (20 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Monterey County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 12 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.5 9 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.8 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 3 km WNW of Pacific Grove, CA
- 2.2 4 km N of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 2 km N of Aromas, CA
- 1.8 1 km N of Aromas, CA
- 2.7 5 km NNE of Corralitos, CA
- 1.6 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.9 9 km ENE of San Martin, CA
- 1.6 10 km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 1.8 12 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 6 km SSW of Gilroy, CA
- 1.6 3 km WSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.6 6 km SSE of San Juan Bautista, 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.