Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Boulder Creek, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Boulder Creek in the 24 hours to 2:10 am PST (10:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 12 km (7 mi) E, at 2:58 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Boulder Creek
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Boulder Creek, CA, at 9:50 am PDT on 24 August 2024 (16:50 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 25 km WNW of Boulder Creek, CA
52 km (33 mi) WSW of San Jose, CA · 32 km (20 mi) SW of Palo Alto, CA
- When
- 9:50 am PDT on 24 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Boulder Creek, CA · earthquakes near Boulder Creek
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Mateo County, 25 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio 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 808 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Boulder Creek, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Boulder Creek, 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: Portola Valley, Brookdale, Bonny Doon, Ladera, Woodside, Ben Lomond.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.7 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 46 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 30 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 7 km NNW of Boulder Creek, California · 22 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 Santa Cruz Mountains, California · 35 km E 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 37.1905, -122.3927. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County, CA | 25 km (16 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 39 km (25 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | E | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Alameda County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Contra Costa 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.
- 3.1 31 km SW of Portola Valley, CA
- 1.6 4 km SW of Loyola, CA
- 2.6 5 km WSW of Loyola, CA
- 3.0 5 km WSW of Loyola, CA
- 2.5 5 km SW of Loyola, CA
- 2.2 4 km S of Highlands-Baywood Park, CA
- 1.7 14 km WSW of Portola Valley, CA
- 1.6 11 km of Boulder Creek, CA
- 1.8 6 km SSE of Portola Valley, CA
- 1.7 6 km SW of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 2.0 3 km SSE of Pacifica, CA
- 1.7 3 km SSE of Pacifica, CA
- 1.7 4 km SSE of Pacifica, CA
- 2.3 17 km SW of Santa Cruz, CA
- 1.7 12 km W of Saratoga, 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.