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United States · California

M1.2 Earthquake near Santa Clara County, California (United States)

UTC time: 2026-09-17 23:21:20 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M1.2
Depth
5.7 km
Source
USGS

California · Santa Clara County

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About this earthquake

On September 17, 2026 at 23:21 UTC, a magnitude M1.2 earthquake occurred near Santa Clara County, California (United States). With a focal depth of about 6 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by USGS. United States: 171 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M6.5.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 5.7 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 5.7 km
Shallow
5.7 km
5.7 km — shallower than the regional average (15.2 km)
Regional average: 15.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Clear Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 202 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 1'439 m ·United States
  • Mammoth Mountain
    Distance: 231 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 3'369 m ·Last eruption: 1260 ·United States
  • Mono-Inyo Craters
    Distance: 234 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 2'796 m ·Last eruption: 1380 ·United States
  • Mono Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 239 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 2'121 m ·Last eruption: 1790 ·United States
  • Soda Lakes
    Distance: 338 km ·Maar(s) ·Elevation: 1'251 m ·United States
  • Lassen Volcanic Center
    Distance: 346 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'187 m ·Last eruption: 1917 ·United States

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Mineta San Jose International AirportUnited States · SJC · KSJC
    26.7 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-17

Nuclear power plants

  • Vallecitos nuclear power plantUnited StatesPermanently shut downReactor units at site: 1
    31.0 kmStraight-line distance

Source: Global Energy Monitor · Global Nuclear Power Tracker · Dataset date: 2026-08

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

California

Context for this earthquake

17 Sep 2025 – 17 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 2,412 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · United States

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Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · United States

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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