QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Gilroy, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Gilroy in the last 24 hours. M 1.6, 9 km (5 mi) E of Gilroy, at 1:22 am PST on 12 November 2026 (09:22 UTC); the estimated shaking in Gilroy was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Gilroy

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east of Gilroy, CA, at 7:27 pm PST on 1 November 2026 (03:27 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 9 km E of Gilroy, CA

11 km (7 mi) E of Gilroy, CA · 46 km (28 mi) SE of San Jose, CA

7:27 pm PST, Nov 1, 2026 · · 5.6 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Clara County 32 kmSanta Cruz County 48 kmSan Benito County 54 kmMerced County 69 kmStanislaus County 75 kmAlameda County 83 kmMonterey County 85 kmSan Mateo County 93 kmSan Joaquin County 106 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
7:27 pm PST on 1 November 2026 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) east of Gilroy, CA · earthquakes near Gilroy
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
5.6 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Santa Clara County, 32 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Calaveras fault, 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 10 days ago

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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Gilroy, 9 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: Gilroy 9 km, intensity II · Hollister 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 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 6,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 37 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 20 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 38 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 36.9938, -121.4630. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Clara County, CA 32 km (20 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 48 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Benito County, CA 54 km (34 mi) SE earthquakes near San Benito County
Merced County, CA 69 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Merced County
Stanislaus County, CA 75 km (47 mi) NNE earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Alameda County, CA 83 km (51 mi) NNW earthquakes near Alameda County

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

Aftershocks so far

29 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 9 km E of Gilroy, CA
  2. 1.6 10 km SW of Tres Pinos, CA
  3. 1.7 15 km E of Seven Trees, CA
  4. 1.4 15 km N of Morgan Hill, CA
  5. 2.0 4 km SSW of San Juan Bautista, CA
  6. 2.1 26 km SW of Gustine, CA
  7. 1.3 15 km S of Tres Pinos, CA
  8. 1.3 4 km N of Hollister, CA
  9. 1.0 4 km NNW of Hollister, CA
  10. 1.1 13 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
  11. 0.9 27 km SW of Westley, CA
  12. 0.7 13 km SSW of Tres Pinos, CA
  13. 1.6 26 km WSW of Westley, CA
  14. 1.5 4 km NNW of Hollister, CA
  15. 1.1 27 km SW of Gustine, 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 changedFromToWhen
felt reports12
reported intensitynot reported3.1
felt reportsnot reported1

On USGS

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