Earthquake near Livermore, CA

Yes. A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) ESE of Livermore, CA, at 7:38 pm PST on 9 March 2016 (03:38 UTC), 1.4 km deep. 267 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

This was on 9 March 2016. The latest near Livermore: M 2.6 on 27 September 2026.

USGS: 8 km ESE of Livermore, California

8 km (5 mi) SE of Livermore, CA · 40 km (25 mi) NNE of San Jose, CA

7:38 pm PST, Mar 9, 2016 · 2016-03-10 03:38 UTC · 1.4 km deep · released about 800 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Livermore Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.

When: 7:38 pm PST on 9 March 2016 (2016-03-10 03:38 UTC)
Where: 9 km (5 mi) ESE of Livermore, CA · earthquakes near Livermore
Magnitude: M 3.0 (md)
Depth: 1.4 km below the surface
Felt: 267 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest: Alameda County, 20 km W
Nearest mapped fault: Greenville fault, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3444 days ago · we first saw it 3444 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Livermore, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Livermore 9 km, intensity III · Pleasanton 17 km, intensity III · Dublin 23 km, intensity II · Tracy 25 km, intensity II · Byron 25 km, intensity II · Blackhawk 28 km, intensity II · Fremont 29 km, intensity II · San Ramon 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 420,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 19,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 13,000× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 3.0 about 800 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.2 Near San Jose, California · 40 km SSW of this epicentre Aug 3, 1903
6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 37 km S of this epicentre Apr 24, 1984
5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 23 km NNW of this epicentre Jan 24, 1980
5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 18 km S of this epicentre Mar 31, 1986
5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 25 km SSW of this epicentre Oct 31, 2007

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA	20 km (13 mi)	W	earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA	39 km (24 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Santa Clara County, CA	47 km (29 mi)	S	earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Joaquin County, CA	48 km (30 mi)	NE	earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Stanislaus County, CA	60 km (38 mi)	E	earthquakes near Stanislaus County
San Mateo County, CA	66 km (41 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near San Mateo County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

1.6 16 km N of Morgan Hill, California 00:06 UTC
1.6 11 km SE of Sunol, California 10:16 UTC
1.7 8 km ESE of East Foothills, California 16:27 UTC
2.4 1 km SSE of Pacheco, California 10:33 UTC
1.6 13 km N of Morgan Hill, California 16:44 UTC
1.7 8 km NE of Milpitas, California 13:40 UTC
2.6 4 km ESE of Union City, California 17:29 UTC
1.7 11 km SE of Sunol, California 11:36 UTC
2.8 8 km NNE of East Foothills, California 00:27 UTC
1.7 3 km NE of Sunol, California 06:55 UTC
2.2 5 km NE of Clayton, California 07:40 UTC
2.4 8 km N of East Foothills, California 17:06 UTC
1.6 2 km E of Union City, California 00:21 UTC
2.0 4 km NNW of Union City, California 17:48 UTC
2.2 9 km SSE of Sunol, California 19:28 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 08:38 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.