Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5ml
Earthquake near San Jose, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Jose in the 24 hours to 7:27 pm PST (03:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 19 km (12 mi) E, at 12:38 pm PDT on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Jose
This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of San Jose, CA, at 7:21 am PDT on 27 September 2026 (14:21 UTC), 2.4 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 27 km WSW of Westley, CA
35 km (21 mi) ENE of San Jose, CA · 34 km (21 mi) S of Tracy, CA
- When
- 7:21 am PDT on 27 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of San Jose, CA · earthquakes near San Jose
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 30 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Greenville fault, 4 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 46 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Jose, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near San Jose, 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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In San Jose, 40 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: Patterson 29 km, intensity II · Tracy 36 km, intensity II · Morgan Hill 36 km, intensity II · San Jose 40 km, intensity II · Milpitas 40 km, intensity II · Newman 40 km, intensity II · Livermore 40 km, intensity II · Gustine 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 75,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.7× more
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 260 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 33 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 23 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 39 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 35 km S 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 37.4177, -121.4555. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 30 km (19 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| Alameda County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 67 km (41 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Merced County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.4 12 km SE of Livermore, CA
- 1.8 20 km W of Westley, CA
- 1.2 8 km NE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.1 18 km ENE of San Martin, CA
- 1.3 15 km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 2.6 14 km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 2.1 12 km SE of Livermore, CA
- 1.9 8 km ENE of Gilroy, CA
- 1.1 17 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.3 11 km E of Gilroy, CA
- 1.5 2 km WSW of Campbell, CA
- 1.7 19 km WSW of Gustine, CA
- 1.0 15 km SE of Livermore, CA
- 3.1 23 km WSW of Gustine, CA
- 1.3 8 km ENE of Alum Rock, 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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| felt reports | 7 | 8 | |
| felt reports | 5 | 7 | |
| reported intensity | 2.2 | 2.4 | |
| felt reports | 3 | 5 | |
| measured intensity | 3.62 | 3.61 | |
| reported intensity | not reported | 2.2 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 3 | |
| review status | automatic | reviewed | |
| measured intensity | not reported | 3.62 |
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.