QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Hollister, CA, at 2:08 am PDT on 7 July 2024 (09:08 UTC), 5.4 km deep. 77 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km WSW of Hollister, CA

61 km (38 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA · 22 km (13 mi) NE of Salinas, CA

2:08 am PDT, Jul 7, 2024 · · 5.4 km deep · released about 830 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hollister Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 41 kmSanta Clara County 48 kmSanta Cruz County 53 kmMonterey County 66 kmMerced County 77 kmStanislaus County 91 kmAlameda County 100 kmSan Mateo County 104 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
2:08 am PDT on 7 July 2024 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
5.4 km below the surface
Felt
77 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
San Benito County, 41 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 3 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 126 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 Hollister, 6 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: Hollister 6 km, intensity III · Prunedale 20 km, intensity II · Gilroy 22 km, intensity II · Salinas 24 km, intensity II · Watsonville 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 830 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 6.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18,000× 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 830 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 420 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 25 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 24 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 25 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 26 km SE 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 36.8265, -121.4600. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 41 km (25 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Clara County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 53 km (33 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Monterey County, CA 66 km (41 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 77 km (48 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 91 km (57 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 14 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  2. 2.1 14 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  3. 1.7 5 km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 2.1 14 km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  5. 1.6 4 km NNE of Hollister, CA
  6. 1.5 3 km W of Hollister, CA
  7. 1.6 14 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  8. 1.7 11 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  9. 1.6 3 km N of Interlaken, CA
  10. 2.4 4 km WSW of Hollister, CA
  11. 2.8 13 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  12. 1.6 8 km NE of Gilroy, CA
  13. 2.5 13 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  14. 2.4 3 km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
  15. 2.1 26 km SW of Los Banos, 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.