QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Hollister, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Hollister in the last 24 hours. M 2.6, 21 km (13 mi) WNW of Hollister, at 11:40 am PST on 12 November 2026 (19:40 UTC); the estimated shaking in Hollister was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Hollister

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) north of Hollister, CA, at 5:22 am PDT on 29 May 2025 (12:22 UTC), 5.5 km deep.

USGS: 9 km N of Hollister, CA

55 km (34 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 19 km (12 mi) ESE of Gilroy, CA

5:22 am PDT, May 29, 2025 · · 5.5 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Clara County 42 kmSan Benito County 45 kmSanta Cruz County 55 kmMerced County 67 kmMonterey County 76 kmStanislaus County 79 kmAlameda County 92 kmSan Mateo County 102 kmSan Joaquin 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
5:22 am PDT on 29 May 2025 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) north of Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
5.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Clara County, 42 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Calaveras 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 526 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Hollister, 8 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.

Likely felt in: Hollister 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 5.1 on 2022-10-25 — about 120,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 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 · 30 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 27 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 36.9242, -121.3992. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Clara County, CA 42 km (26 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Benito County, CA 45 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Cruz County, CA 55 km (34 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Merced County, CA 67 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Monterey County, CA 76 km (47 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County
Stanislaus County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 6 km SW of Gilroy, CA
  2. 1.8 12 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  3. 1.8 2 km E of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 1.7 13 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  5. 1.6 6 km WSW of Gilroy, CA
  6. 1.6 9 km ENE of San Martin, CA
  7. 2.0 10 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  8. 2.5 10 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  9. 1.5 2 km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.1 14 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  11. 2.5 9 km ENE of Gilroy, CA
  12. 2.6 16 km NNE of Morgan Hill, CA
  13. 1.7 14 km NNE of Morgan Hill, CA
  14. 1.6 25 km W of Los Banos, CA
  15. 3.3 25 km W 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.