QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 2.2md

Earthquake near San Juan Bautista, CA

Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA, at 1:34 am PDT on 13 October 2026 (08:34 UTC), 6.6 km deep. No felt reports to USGS yet. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 4 km SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA

58 km (36 mi) SSE of San Jose, CA · 16 km (10 mi) NNE of Salinas, CA

1:34 am PDT, Oct 13, 2026 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 58 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Cruz County 46 kmSanta Clara County 47 kmSan Benito County 48 kmMonterey County 68 kmMerced County 85 kmStanislaus County 96 kmAlameda County 98 kmSan Mateo County 98 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
1:34 am PDT on 13 October 2026 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA · earthquakes near San Juan Bautista
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Cruz County, 46 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Zayante-Vergeles 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 47 minutes 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In San Juan Bautista, 4 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: San Juan Bautista 4 km, intensity II · Prunedale 11 km, intensity II · Aromas 11 km, intensity II · Hollister 14 km, intensity II · Ridgemark 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 58 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 31 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 20 km NW 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 36.8163, -121.5580. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Cruz County, CA 46 km (28 mi) WNW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara County, CA 47 km (29 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Benito County, CA 48 km (30 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 68 km (42 mi) SSE earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 85 km (53 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 96 km (60 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.