Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Califon, NJ
No earthquake was likely felt in Califon in the 24 hours to 3:26 am EST (08:26 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 9 km (6 mi) E, at 1:30 pm EDT on 19 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 105 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Califon
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Califon, NJ, at 10:29 am EDT on 5 April 2024 (14:29 UTC), 6.4 km deep. 90 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
70 km (43 mi) W of New York, NY · 31 km (19 mi) WNW of Plainfield, NJ
- When
- 10:29 am EDT on 5 April 2024 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Califon, NJ · earthquakes near Califon
- New Jersey today
- every earthquake in New Jersey in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 90 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Nearest
- Hunterdon County, 19 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 881 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Califon, NJ
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 51 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Califon, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Gladstone 9 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.8 on 2024-04-05 — about 2,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 40.6900, -74.7665. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 19 km (12 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hunterdon County |
| Somerset County, NJ | 19 km (12 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Somerset County |
| Morris County, NJ | 26 km (16 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Morris County |
| Warren County, NJ | 27 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Warren County |
| Union County, NJ | 39 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Union County |
| Middlesex County, NJ | 41 km (26 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Middlesex County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 5 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.7 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.7 1 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 2.6 1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.8 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 6 km SSE of Long Valley, New Jersey
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 2.9 7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.6 7 km E of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 2.1 6 km W of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km E of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km N of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 3 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
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.