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United States · California

M1.2 Earthquake near Palo Alto, California (United States)

UTC time: 2026-10-04 09:48:27 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.2 earthquake was recorded near Palo Alto, California (United States) on October 4, 2026 at 09:48 UTC. With a focal depth of about 7 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this small magnitude are usually barely noticeable and cause no damage.

The data is provided by USGS and cross-checked across seismological networks. United States: 164 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.6.

Details

ID
fd9b9dc9669eb14776709b220ca2e02470e3d1b8
Magnitude
M1.2
Depth
7.0 km
UTC time
2026-10-04 09:48:27 UTC
Local time
—
Country
United States
State
California
City
Palo Alto
County
Santa Clara County
Source
usgs
Coordinates
37.29500, -122.15283
Temperature
18.5°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 7 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 7 km
Shallow
7 km
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: 194 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 1'439 m ·United States
  • Mammoth Mountain
    Distance: 278 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 3'369 m ·Last eruption: 1260 ·United States
  • Mono-Inyo Craters
    Distance: 281 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 2'796 m ·Last eruption: 1380 ·United States
  • Mono Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 286 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 2'121 m ·Last eruption: 1790 ·United States
  • Lassen Volcanic Center
    Distance: 360 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'187 m ·Last eruption: 1917 ·United States
  • Soda Lakes
    Distance: 378 km ·Maar(s) ·Elevation: 1'251 m ·United States

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Mineta San Jose International AirportUnited States · SJC · KSJC
    21.1 kmStraight-line distance
  • San Carlos AirportUnited States · SQL · KSQL
    25.8 kmStraight-line distance
  • San Francisco International AirportUnited States · SFO · KSFO
    41.1 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-04

Nuclear power plants

  • Vallecitos nuclear power plantUnited StatesPermanently shut downReactor units at site: 1
    44.9 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

04 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 2,448 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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Country statistics · United States

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