Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Bonny Doon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bonny Doon in the 24 hours to 7:19 pm PST (03:19 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 79 km (49 mi) N, at 8:30 am PDT on 13 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7,876 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bonny Doon
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) southwest of Bonny Doon, CA, at 3:10 pm PST on 20 February 2026 (23:10 UTC), 7.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10 km SW of Bonny Doon, CA
51 km (32 mi) SW of San Jose, CA · 16 km (10 mi) W of Santa Cruz, CA
- When
- 3:10 pm PST on 20 February 2026 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) southwest of Bonny Doon, CA · earthquakes near Bonny Doon
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 7.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 19 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, under 1 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 257 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bonny Doon, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bonny Doon, 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 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Bonny Doon, 10 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: Santa Cruz 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 31 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km S of Davenport, California · 18 km S of this epicentre
- 6.3 16 km SW of Davenport, California · 12 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 45 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 46 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 36.9657, -122.2170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 19 km (12 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Alameda County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Benito County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 109 km (67 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
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 4 km WSW of Cupertino, CA
- 1.8 9 km ESE of Lexington Hills, CA
- 1.5 2 km WSW of Campbell, CA
- 1.0 5 km SSW of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 1.8 13 km WNW of Bonny Doon, CA
- 1.2 6 km S of Portola Valley, CA
- 2.3 4 km SSW of Lexington Hills, CA
- 1.8 19 km WNW of Boulder Creek, CA
- 1.7 2 km SSE of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 1.1 8 km SW of Loyola, CA
- 1.0 4 km WSW of Cupertino, CA
- 1.1 5 km WSW of Cupertino, CA
- 1.3 11 km SW of Loyola, CA
- 1.3 11 km SSE of Portola Valley, CA
- 1.8 11 km SSW of La Selva Beach, 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.