Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.2mw
Earthquake near Watsonville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Watsonville in the 24 hours to 6:06 pm PST (02:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 15 km (9 mi) ESE, at 6:10 am PDT on 26 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Watsonville
This page: a magnitude 4.2 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east of Watsonville, CA, at 2:47 am PDT on 29 September 2024 (09:47 UTC), 6.9 km deep. 4,076 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km of Aromas, CA
11 km (7 mi) E of Watsonville, CA · 45 km (28 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA
- When
- 2:47 am PDT on 29 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) east of Watsonville, CA · earthquakes near Watsonville
- Magnitude
- M 4.2 (mw)
- Depth
- 6.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4,076 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 33 km WNW
- 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 59 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Watsonville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Watsonville, CA. No account or email needed.
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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 108 km (67 mi) from the epicentre. In Watsonville, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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 9 km, intensity IV · Gilroy 13 km, intensity IV · Prunedale 15 km, intensity IV · Hollister 23 km, intensity III · Morgan Hill 24 km, intensity III · Salinas 26 km, intensity III · Capitola 28 km, intensity III · Live Oak 30 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 6,700× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.2 about 25 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 53× 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 23 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 NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 22 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 44 km N of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 35 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 36.9118, -121.6533. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 33 km (21 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 35 km (21 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Benito County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda 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.
- 1.7 5 km NW of Hollister, CA
- 1.6 15 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 15 km NNE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.6 17 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 4 km SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.7 6 km SW of Gilroy, CA
- 2.2 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 2.4 10 km SW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.1 3 km NNE of Corralitos, CA
- 1.7 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.9 13 km NNE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.9 9 km SW of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.9 16 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.8 5 km SE of Aromas, CA
- 1.7 13 km S of Tres Pinos, 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.