Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Califon, NJ
No earthquake was likely felt in Califon in the 24 hours to 5:26 am EST (10:26 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Califon, NJ, at 4:26 am EDT on 30 September 2024 (08:26 UTC), 4.9 km deep. 6 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
- 4:26 am EDT on 30 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 6 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 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Somerset County, 20 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 697 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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Califon, 6 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Gladstone, Long Valley, Peapack, Lebanon, Whitehouse Station, Bedminster.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 63,000 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 40.7048, -74.7646. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, NJ | 20 km (12 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Somerset County |
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 20 km (12 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hunterdon County |
| Morris County, NJ | 25 km (16 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Morris County |
| Warren County, NJ | 26 km (16 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Warren County |
| Union County, NJ | 39 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Union County |
| Middlesex County, NJ | 42 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
16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.1 4 km NNE of Bernardsville, New Jersey
- 1.6 4 km SE of Randolph, New Jersey
- 1.8 5 km W of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.5 1 km NNE of Califon, New Jersey
- 2.4 5 km WSW of Bedminster, New Jersey
- 1.8 5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.6 4 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 2.0 3 km SE of Randolph, New Jersey
- 1.6 3 km SSE of Randolph, New Jersey
- 1.5 6 km NE of Lebanon, New Jersey
- 1.9 5 km W of Bedminster, New Jersey
- 1.7 5 km E of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.8 7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.5 4 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Califon, 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.