Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8md
Earthquake near Corralitos, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Corralitos in the 24 hours to 6:00 pm PST (02:00 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 20 km (12 mi) ESE, at 12:04 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Corralitos
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north of Corralitos, CA, at 1:14 pm PST on 4 January 2026 (21:14 UTC), 13 km deep. 559 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km N of Corralitos, CA
11 km (7 mi) NNW of Watsonville, CA · 31 km (19 mi) S of San Jose, CA
- When
- 1:14 pm PST on 4 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) north of Corralitos, CA · earthquakes near Corralitos
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 559 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 17 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Zayante-Vergeles fault, 2 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 218 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Corralitos, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Corralitos, 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 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Corralitos, 4 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 13 km, intensity II · Capitola 14 km, intensity II · Live Oak 16 km, intensity II · Scotts Valley 18 km, intensity II · Morgan Hill 19 km, intensity II · Santa Cruz 20 km, intensity II · Gilroy 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 2,500 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 · 6 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 19 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 42 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 31 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 37.0203, -121.8118. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 17 km (11 mi) | W | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 25 km (15 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | N | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Benito County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
28 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 3 km SE of Aromas, CA
- 1.6 4 km WSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.7 9 km SSE of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.2 9 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.8 9 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.3 10 km SW of Bonny Doon, CA
- 1.9 9 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.7 2 km ESE of San Martin, CA
- 2.4 3 km SE of Aromas, CA
- 2.7 3 km SE of Aromas, CA
- 1.8 7 km ESE of Prunedale, CA
- 2.0 6 km SW of Ridgemark, CA
- 2.5 5 km SW of Ridgemark, CA
- 3.1 5 km SW of Ridgemark, CA
- 2.5 5 km SW of Ridgemark, 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.