QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Ridgemark, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Ridgemark in the 24 hours to 4:58 pm PST (00:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 8 km (5 mi) S, at 8:53 pm PST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Ridgemark

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Ridgemark, CA, at 11:56 pm PDT on 16 May 2026 (06:56 UTC), 6.7 km deep.

USGS: 2 km ENE of Ridgemark, CA

67 km (42 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 29 km (18 mi) ENE of Salinas, CA

11:56 pm PDT, May 16, 2026 · · 6.7 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ridgemark Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 33 kmSanta Clara County 54 kmSanta Cruz County 62 kmMonterey County 64 kmMerced County 70 kmStanislaus County 88 kmAlameda County 105 kmSan Mateo County 112 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
11:56 pm PDT on 16 May 2026 ()
Where
in Ridgemark, CA · earthquakes near Ridgemark
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
6.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Benito County, 33 km SE
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 168 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. 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 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 57,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 41 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 15 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 19 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 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 36.8173, -121.3497. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 33 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Santa Clara County, CA 54 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 62 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Monterey County, CA 64 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 70 km (43 mi) NE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 88 km (55 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 11 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  2. 2.0 26 km NE of Hollister, CA
  3. 1.8 12 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
  4. 3.0 2 km SE of Aromas, CA
  5. 1.8 12 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
  6. 1.8 11 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
  7. 3.0 11 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
  8. 2.2 10 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
  9. 1.6 5 km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  10. 1.5 7 km WSW of Gilroy, CA
  11. 1.6 12 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  12. 1.8 5 km SW of Ridgemark, CA
  13. 2.0 13 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
  14. 1.6 5 km ESE of Interlaken, CA
  15. 1.5 9 km ENE of Morgan Hill, 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.