San Jose lies between two great faults. To the west is the San Andreas Fault, source of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. To the east, the creeping section of the Calaveras Fault produces most of the small and moderate quakes San Jose feels, on average once or twice a year. On April 14, 1984, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck on the Calaveras near Mount Hamilton.
The 1906 earthquake did heavy damage here. More than 100 people died when the walls and roof of the Agnews Asylum collapsed, and San Jose High School’s stone and brick building was destroyed. The city’s soccer team, the Earthquakes, takes its name from this restless ground.