Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.2md
Earthquake near Morgan Hill, CA
Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) ENE of Morgan Hill, CA, at 4:53 pm PDT on 5 October 2026 (23:53 UTC), 3.5 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
This was on 5 October 2026. The latest near Morgan Hill: M 2.6 on 17 September 2026.
USGS: 8 km ENE of Morgan Hill, CA
26 km (16 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 18 km (11 mi) N of Gilroy, CA
- When
- 4:53 pm PDT on 5 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) ENE of Morgan Hill, CA · earthquakes near Morgan Hill
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 3.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Clara County, 12 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras fault, 2 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 7 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Morgan Hill, 8 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: Morgan Hill 8 km, intensity II · San Martin 10 km, intensity II · Gilroy 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 5.1 on 2022-10-25 — about 19,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 31 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 8 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 25 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 21 km W 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 37.1640, -121.5695. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County, CA | 12 km (8 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Alameda County, CA | 62 km (38 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| San Benito County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Merced County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | E | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
9 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 4 km SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 1.6 26 km WSW of Westley, CA
- 0.7 20 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.7 9 km N of Hollister, CA
- 2.3 4 km SSW of Lexington Hills, CA
- 1.6 2 km WNW of Hollister, CA
- 2.1 2 km NW of Hollister, CA
- 1.7 8 km ESE of Prunedale, CA
- 0.9 14 km SSE of Livermore, 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.