Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Prunedale, CA
Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) ESE of Prunedale, CA, at 11:52 am PDT on 7 October 2026 (18:52 UTC), 1.6 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
This was on 7 October 2026. The latest near Prunedale: M 2.6 on 23 September 2026.
USGS: 8 km ESE of Prunedale, CA
8 km (5 mi) NNE of Salinas, CA
- When
- 11:52 am PDT on 7 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) ESE of Prunedale, CA · earthquakes near Prunedale
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 1.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Santa Cruz County, 47 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Zayante-Vergeles fault, 7 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 6 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Prunedale, 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: Prunedale 8 km, intensity II · Salinas 10 km, intensity II · San Juan Bautista 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.3 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 1,600,000× 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 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 38,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 41 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 40 km N of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 33 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 32 km ESE 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 36.7492, -121.5895. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| San Benito County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | N | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Monterey County, CA | 62 km (38 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Merced County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
6 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 4 km SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
- 2.0 6 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 10 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
- 1.7 9 km N of Hollister, CA
- 1.6 2 km WNW of Hollister, CA
- 2.1 2 km NW of Hollister, 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.