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M2.6 earthquake near Hollister, California, United States

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck near Hollister, California, United States at 09:00 local time (16:00 UTC) on 23 Sept 2026, at a depth of 6 km, according to USGS. The solution is preliminary and may be revised.

24 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-24 17:21 UTC · automatic solution

Magnitude
2.6micro
duration magnitude (md)
Depth
6.1 km
Status
Automatic
Origin time
2026-09-23 16:00:10 UTC
Local: 23 Sept 2026, 09:00:10 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
36.861° N, 121.415° W

Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. shaking
HollisterCalifornia, United States · pop. 37,4622 kmIIIWeak
GilroyCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,23122 kmINot felt
SalinasCalifornia, United States · pop. 157,38030 kmINot felt
WatsonvilleCalifornia, United States · pop. 53,62831 kmINot felt
San JoseCalifornia, United States · pop. 997,36868 kmINot felt
StocktonCalifornia, United States · pop. 305,658123 kmINot felt
OaklandCalifornia, United States · pop. 419,267129 kmINot felt
San FranciscoCalifornia, United States · pop. 827,526135 kmINot felt

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 8 km.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · NC.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
USGS · NCheadlineNorthern California Seismic System via U.S. Geological Survey2.6 md6.1 km36.86° N, 121.42° W–Automatic

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How big was it?

Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.

It released roughly the energy of 112 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 6 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M2.6 releases about 30× the energy of M1.6, and its waves are about 9.5× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 112 kg of TNT vs 4 kg of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M1.6. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

3 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.3 1 day ago. 4 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M2.6

3 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
2.611.712
69.181.19
98.262.38
  1. 2.320 km NE of Gonzales, California, United States09-27 18:15
  2. 1.74 km ESE of Interlaken, California, United States09-23 18:37
  3. 1.1Near Hollister, California, United States09-26 13:10

Did you feel it?

Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

USGS “Did You Feel It?” has 24 reports: add yours at USGS.

Event id nc75440387. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:10 UTC. Solutions: USGS · NC (usgs:nc75440387). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M2.6 earthquake near Hollister, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/nc75440387-m2-6-earthquake-near-hollister-california-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/nc75440387. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.