Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Hollister, CA
USGS: 2 km NW of Hollister, CA
60 km (37 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 22 km (14 mi) SE of Gilroy, CA
- When
- 1:55 am PDT on 29 September 2026 ()
- Where
- in Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 5.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 40 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras fault, under 1 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 4 days ago
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in Hollister, CA, at 1:55 am PDT on 29 September 2026 (08:55 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Ridgemark, San Juan Bautista, Aromas, Gilroy, Prunedale, Las Lomas.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 35,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 25 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 34 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 22 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 26 km SE 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 36.8588, -121.4168. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Monterey County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | S | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 86 km (54 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
7 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 5 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.5 5 km N of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.4 11 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
- 2.5 10 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.1 1 km NE of Aromas, CA
- 1.1 11 km N of Hollister, CA
- 1.0 9 km E of Gilroy, 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.