Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Chualar, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Chualar in the 24 hours to 6:04 am PST (14:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 20 km (12 mi) NNE, at 5:38 am PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Chualar
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Chualar, CA, at 1:06 pm PDT on 23 September 2026 (20:06 UTC), less than 1 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 6 km ENE of Chualar, CA
85 km (53 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA · 20 km (12 mi) SE of Salinas, CA
- When
- 1:06 pm PDT on 23 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Chualar, CA · earthquakes near Chualar
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- -0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 33 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 18 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 50 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Chualar, CA
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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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Chualar, 6 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Gonzales, Salinas, Soledad, Boronda, Ridgemark, Prunedale.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 65,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 26 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 20 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km SW of Hollister, California · 24 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California · 17 km NE 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 36.5860, -121.4543. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 33 km (21 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Monterey County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Merced County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 2 km E of Aromas, CA
- 1.3 10 km SSW of Ridgemark, CA
- 0.5 11 km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 1.8 10 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.6 7 km NNE of Greenfield, CA
- 1.6 6 km NNE of Greenfield, CA
- 1.2 5 km SE of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.0 14 km NE of Hollister, CA
- 2.4 4 km NNW of Hollister, CA
- 1.9 14 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.3 6 km SE of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.9 9 km SW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.1 10 km SW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 1.2 16 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 2.2 11 km SSW 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.