How frequent are earthquakes in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi)?

Q: How frequent are earthquakes in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi)?

The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. Based on data from the past 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 2,100 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi). It has had at least 8 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 15 to 20 years.

/>Weak Mag. 2.2 Earthquake - 7.3 mi Northeast of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States, on Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026, at 09:59 pm (GMT -8)

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Mag. 2.2 quake - 5 km NNE of Alum Rock, CA, on Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026, at 09:59 pm (GMT -8) -

A light magnitude 2.2 earthquake hit 11.7 km (7 mi) away from San Jose, California, United States, in the evening of Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026 at 9.59 pm local time (GMT -8). The quake had a very shallow depth of 3.1 km (1.9 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter.

Mag. 2.2 quake - 5 km NNE of Alum Rock, CA, on Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026, at 09:59 pm (GMT -8)

Hint: Click on the image to see different maps of this quake!

Weak magnitude 2.2 earthquake at 3 km depth

5 Feb 06:00 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 2 minutes.
5 Feb 06:02: Now using data updates from USGS

Earthquake details

Date & time	Feb 5, 2026 05:59:07 UTC -
Local time at epicenter	Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026, at 09:59 pm (GMT -8)
Status	automatic (likely earthquake, but data not revised by seismologist)
Magnitude	2.29
Depth	3.1 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	37.4075°N / 121.795°W Santa Clara County, California, United States
Seismic antipode	37.4075°S / 58.205°E
Quality	65 seismic stations
Shaking intensity	III Weak shaking near epicenter
Felt	6 reports
Primary data source	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcano	Clear Lake (194 km / 121 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Clear Sky 8.6°C (47 F), humidity: 77%, wind: 2 m/s (4 kts) from E
Estimated seismic energy released	1.3 x 10⁸ joules (35 kilowatt hours) \| equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 2.2 \| about seismic energy

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Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in the US California

Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is East Foothills, a town with 8,300 inhabitants in the United States, in 3.5 km (2.2 mi) distance southwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.

Distance	Place	Max. shaking intensity(*)	Region	Country
4 km (2 mi) SW of epicenter	East Foothills (pop: 8,270)	III: Weak	Santa Clara County, California	United States
10 km (6 mi) W of epicenter	Milpitas (pop: 77,600)	II: Very weak	Santa Clara County, California	United States
12 km (7 mi) SW of epicenter	San Jose (pop: 997,400)	II: Very weak	Santa Clara County, California	United States
15 km (10 mi) SW of epicenter	Santa Clara (pop: 126,200)	II: Very weak	California	United States
19 km (12 mi) SW of epicenter	Campbell (pop: 41,100)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
22 km (13 mi) W of epicenter	Sunnyvale (pop: 155,800)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
23 km (14 mi) SW of epicenter	Cupertino (pop: 60,600)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
23 km (14 mi) NW of epicenter	Fremont (pop: 232,200)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
26 km (16 mi) NW of epicenter	Newark (pop: 45,300)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
26 km (16 mi) SW of epicenter	Los Gatos (pop: 30,700)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
26 km (16 mi) W of epicenter	Mountain View (pop: 80,400)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
26 km (16 mi) SW of epicenter	Saratoga (pop: 31,000)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
28 km (18 mi) W of epicenter	Los Altos (pop: 30,700)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
29 km (18 mi) NW of epicenter	Union City (pop: 74,500)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
29 km (18 mi) N of epicenter	Pleasanton (pop: 79,500)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
31 km (19 mi) N of epicenter	Livermore (pop: 88,100)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
31 km (19 mi) W of epicenter	Palo Alto (pop: 66,900)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
31 km (19 mi) W of epicenter	East Palo Alto (pop: 29,700)	I: Not felt	San Mateo County, California	United States
33 km (20 mi) W of epicenter	Stanford (pop: 13,800)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
33 km (21 mi) SE of epicenter	Morgan Hill (pop: 42,900)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
35 km (21 mi) W of epicenter	Menlo Park (pop: 33,400)	I: Not felt	San Mateo County, California	United States
35 km (22 mi) N of epicenter	Dublin (pop: 57,700)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
38 km (24 mi) NW of epicenter	Hayward (pop: 158,300)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
40 km (25 mi) W of epicenter	Redwood City (pop: 85,300)	I: Not felt	San Mateo County, California	United States
41 km (25 mi) NW of epicenter	Castro Valley (pop: 61,400)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
42 km (26 mi) NW of epicenter	San Lorenzo (pop: 23,500)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
43 km (26 mi) NW of epicenter	Ashland (pop: 21,900)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
43 km (26 mi) W of epicenter	San Carlos (pop: 29,900)	I: Not felt	San Mateo County, California	United States
44 km (28 mi) W of epicenter	Belmont (pop: 27,200)	I: Not felt	San Mateo County, California	United States
44 km (28 mi) N of epicenter	San Ramon (pop: 76,100)	I: Not felt	Contra Costa County, California	United States
45 km (28 mi) W of epicenter	Foster City (pop: 33,500)	I: Not felt	San Mateo County, California	United States
48 km (30 mi) NW of epicenter	San Leandro (pop: 90,700)	I: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States
49 km (30 mi) SE of epicenter	Gilroy (pop: 53,200)	I: Not felt	Santa Clara County, California	United States
49 km (31 mi) NE of epicenter	Tracy (pop: 87,100)	I: Not felt	San Joaquin County, California	United States
50 km (31 mi) N of epicenter	Danville (pop: 44,400)	I: Not felt	Contra Costa County, California	United States
50 km (31 mi) S of epicenter	Live Oak (pop: 17,200)	I: Not felt	Santa Cruz County, California	United States
50 km (31 mi) W of epicenter	San Mateo (pop: 103,500)	I: Not felt	California	United States
53 km (33 mi) SW of epicenter	Santa Cruz (pop: 64,200)	I: Not felt	California	United States
58 km (36 mi) NW of epicenter	Alameda (pop: 78,600)	: Not felt	California	United States
61 km (38 mi) NW of epicenter	Oakland (pop: 419,300)	: Not felt	Alameda County, California	United States

Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (6)

We received 6 reports for this quake from the

United States. The quake was reported to have been felt in up to approx. 11.6 km (7 mi) distance.

Most reports came from San Jose (4 reports), a city of 1 million people in California in 11.7 km (7 mi) distance southwest of the epicenter,

United States, Milpitas (1 report), a town with 78,000 inhabitants in 10.2 km (6 mi) distance west of the epicenter, and Oakley (1 report) (66 km or 41 mi to the north). Further below is a list of places where most people reported this quake.

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

Contribute:
Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Send your own user report!

Translate

San Jose (3.7 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Shook the house front to back. House is made of brick. Tile floors. Vaulted ceilings. Single jolt with a little shaking/rumbling between

Oakley ca (65.6 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : I was sitting at my desk it started shaking

Milpitas, Santa Clara, California (6.8 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short

East San Jose Alum Rock (11.5 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : it was a jolt

San Jose (2.8 km SSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

East foothill (4.1 km SSW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

List of cities/places with most reports

Place	Distance from epicenter	Average reported Shaking Intensity	Nr. of reports
San Jose, California, United States (Pop.: 997,368)	11.7 km (7 mi) SW of epicenter	III: Weak shaking	4
Milpitas, California, United States (Pop.: 77,604)	10.2 km (6 mi) W of epicenter	II: Very weak shaking	1
Oakley, California, United States (Pop.: 39,813)	66 km (41 mi) N of epicenter	II: Very weak shaking	1

Note: Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (6 in total) could be used for statistics.

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Number of reports by intensity

Shaking intensity	Number of reports	Min-Max distance from epicenter (*)	Average distance (*)
II: Very weak shaking	2	4–6.8 km (2.5–4.2 mi)	5.4 km (3.4 mi)
III: Weak shaking	1	11.6–11.6 km (7.2–7.2 mi)	11.6 km (7 mi)
IV: Light shaking	2	2.8–3.7 km (1.7–2.3 mi)	3.3 km (2 mi)

Notes
(*) Reports are filtered to exclude those that are likely highly inaccurate or esaggerated.
Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (6 in total) could be used for geographic statistics.

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Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag	Depth	Time GMT 2026-02-5	Epicenter	Agency
2.29 ± 0.15	3.1 km 1.9 mi ±0.4 km	05:59:07.27	5 km NNE of Alum Rock, CA Epicenter uncertainty: ± 0.1 km	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
2.3 ± 0.15	3.1 km 1.9 mi	05:59:07.27	SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIF. 0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGS Epicenter uncertainty: ± 1 km	EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
2.29	3.1 km 1.9 mi	05:59:07	CENTRAL CALIFORNIA 0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGS	IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology)

Earthquake statistics

Average number of earthquakes

Based on data from the past 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 2,100 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):

Mag. 6 or higher: 0.06 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 15.9 years)
Mag. 5 or higher: 0.4 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 2.5 years)
Mag. 4 or higher: 2.3 quakes per year
Mag. 3 or higher: 29.2 quakes per year
Mag. 2 or higher: 292 quakes per year (or 24.3 quakes per month)
Mag. 1 or higher: 1,500 quakes per year (or 4.2 quakes per day)

The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 8 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 15 to 20 years.

Number of quakes per year

Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake

Strongest in 2 years

The earthquake was the strongest to hit this part of the United States in over 2 years. Earlier, the last quake of equal or greater strength near the present epicenter had been a magnitude 4.5 earthquake on Monday, Oct 16, 2023, at 04:42 am local time (America/Los Angeles GMT -7) in 84 km (52 mi) distance to the south:

Mag. 4.5 earthquake North Pacific Ocean - California, United States - Oct 16, 2023 -

The strongest-ever (since 1900) recorded quake in this area measured magnitude 7.9. It had occurred 120 years ago earlier, on Wednesday, Apr 18, 1906, at 01:12 pm local time (Universal Time GMT +0) in California,

United States:

Mag. 7.9 earthquake North Pacific Ocean - California, United States - Apr 18, 1906 -

Below is a list and map of larger or recent quakes that had occurred near the epicenter before this earthquake (within up to 100 km/61 mi distance, up to 300 km/183 mi for very large quakes above mag. 7). Filter and sort the list by magnitude or time.

Date and Time	Mag Depth	Distance	Location	Details
Feb 4, 11:48 am (GMT -8)	2.2 3.7 km	42 km (26 mi) to the N	2.7 mi east of San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California, United States 2 reports	Info
Feb 4, 03:06 am (GMT -8)	2.0 7.8 km	39 km (24 mi) to the N	3.7 mi southeast of San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California, United States 2 reports	Info
Feb 3, 07:15 pm (GMT -8)	2.2 8.2 km	40 km (25 mi) to the N	3.2 mi southeast of San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California, United States	Info
Feb 3, 01:45 pm (GMT -8)	2.5 8.3 km	41 km (26 mi) to the N	4 km ESE of San Ramon, CA 1 report	Info
Feb 3, 12:49 pm (GMT -8)	2.0 6.6 km	43 km (27 mi) to the N	1.6 mi east of San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California, United States	Info
Feb 3, 09:01 am (GMT -8)	2.7 7.7 km	42 km (26 mi) to the N	2.4 mi east of San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California, United States 3 reports	Info
Feb 2, 11:47 pm (GMT -8)	2.7 4.6 km	41 km (25 mi) to the N	2.6 mi southeast of San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California, United States 7 reports	Info
Oct 16, 2023 04:42 am (Los Angeles)	4.5 4.2 km	84 km (52 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, 21 mi west of Salinas, Monterey County, California, United States 1 report	Info
Sep 18, 2023 09:13 pm (Los Angeles)	4.5 3.5 km	44 km (27 mi) to the E	15 km SW of Westley, CA 304 reports	Info
Oct 25, 2022 11:42 am (Los Angeles)	5.0 8.4 km	15 km (9.5 mi) to the SE	12 mi east of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States 1240 reports	Info
Oct 15, 2019 12:42 pm (Los Angeles)	4.7 10.1 km	97 km (60 mi) to the SE	16 mi southeast of Hollister, San Benito County, California, United States 328 reports	Info
Jan 4, 2018 02:39 am (Los Angeles)	4.4 13 km	64 km (40 mi) to the NW	2 mi southeast of Berkeley, Alameda County, California, United States 1731 reports	Info
Nov 13, 2017 12:31 pm (Los Angeles)	4.5 6.3 km	99 km (62 mi) to the SE	San Benito County, 15 mi north of Soledad, Monterey County, California, United States 64 reports	Info
Jan 12, 2011 01:51 am (Los Angeles)	4.5 7.7 km	76 km (47 mi) to the S	7.6 mi southwest of Hollister, San Benito County, California, United States	Info
Oct 30, 2007 08:04 pm (Los Angeles)	5.4 9.7 km	3.4 km (2.1 mi) to the NE	7.3 mi east of Milpitas, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
May 14, 2002 05:00 am (Universal Time)	4.9 6.8 km	52 km (32 mi) to the S	3.2 mi southwest of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Dec 28, 2001 09:14 pm (Universal Time)	4.6 6.6 km	98 km (61 mi) to the SE	San Benito County, 23 mi east of Salinas, Monterey County, California, United States	Info
Apr 18, 1990 06:53 am (Los Angeles)	5.4 5.5 km	54 km (34 mi) to the S	5 km NNW of Aromas, California	Info
Oct 17, 1989 05:04 pm (Los Angeles)	6.9 17 km	42 km (26 mi) to the S	The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake	Info
Aug 8, 1989 01:13 am (Los Angeles)	5.4 13 km	31 km (19 mi) to the S	13 mi south of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Mar 31, 1986 04:55 am (Los Angeles)	5.7 8.5 km	12 km (7.7 mi) to the NE	15 mi northeast of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Jan 26, 1986 12:20 pm (Los Angeles)	5.5 8.2 km	81 km (50 mi) to the SE	7.3 mi southeast of Hollister, San Benito County, California, United States	Info
Apr 24, 1984 02:15 pm (Los Angeles)	6.2 8.2 km	15 km (9.3 mi) to the SE	12 mi east of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Jan 26, 1980 07:33 pm (Los Angeles)	5.4 14 km	39 km (24 mi) to the N	5.7 mi northeast of Livermore, Alameda County, California, United States	Info
Jan 24, 1980 12:00 pm (Los Angeles)	5.8 11 km	49 km (31 mi) to the N	Contra Costa County, 12 mi north of Livermore, Alameda County, California, United States	Info
Aug 6, 1979 10:05 am (Los Angeles)	5.8 8.3 km	42 km (26 mi) to the SE	7.4 mi northeast of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Jun 12, 1970 09:03 am (Los Angeles)	5.8 2 km	45 km (28 mi) to the NW	North Pacific Ocean, 5.1 mi southwest of San Leandro, Alameda County, California, United States	Info
Apr 9, 1961 12:25 am (Los Angeles)	5.5 0 km	92 km (57 mi) to the SE	13 mi southeast of Hollister, San Benito County, California, United States	Info
Apr 9, 1961 12:23 am (Los Angeles)	5.8 12 km	91 km (56 mi) to the SE	13 mi southeast of Hollister, San Benito County, California, United States	Info
Sep 4, 1955 07:01 pm (Los Angeles)	5.8 15 km	39 km (24 mi) to the SW	Santa Cruz County, 17 mi southwest of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Oct 22, 1926 01:35 pm (Universal Time)	6.3 10 km	72 km (45 mi) to the SW	North Pacific Ocean, 17 mi west of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California, United States	Info
Oct 22, 1926 12:35 pm (Universal Time)	6.1 0 km	101 km (63 mi) to the SW	North Pacific Ocean, 30 mi southwest of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California, United States	Info
Jul 1, 1911 09:59 pm (Universal Time)	6.4 10 km	36 km (22 mi) to the SE	21 mi southeast of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Mar 11, 1910 06:52 am (Universal Time)	5.8 0 km	56 km (35 mi) to the S	2.5 mi west of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California, United States	Info
Apr 18, 1906 01:12 pm (Universal Time)	7.9 12 km	77 km (48 mi) to the NW	North Pacific Ocean, 8.7 mi southwest of White Island, San Francisco County, California, United States	Info
Aug 3, 1903 06:49 am (Universal Time)	6.2 0 km	12 km (7.4 mi) to the S	5.9 mi southeast of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info
Jun 11, 1903 01:12 pm (Universal Time)	6.1 0 km	23 km (14 mi) to the S	17 mi south of Milpitas, Santa Clara County, California, United States	Info

Map of earlier quakes in the area of this quake

Oldest quakes are shown in yellow, most recent in red.

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