Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Santa Rosa, CA
USGS: 3 km S of Dillon Beach, California
68 km (42 mi) NW of San Francisco, CA · 29 km (18 mi) W of Petaluma, CA
- When
- 4:11 am PDT on 30 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 33 km (20 mi) SW of Santa Rosa, CA · earthquakes near Santa Rosa
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Marin County, 26 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3522 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 33 km (20 mi) SW of Santa Rosa, CA, at 4:11 am PDT on 30 April 2016 (11:11 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bodega Bay, Inverness, Occidental, Camp Meeker, Sebastopol, Cotati.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 17 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 Northern California · 16 km NE of this epicentre
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
Epicentre 38.2170, -122.9582. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marin County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Napa County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Solano County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | E | earthquakes near Solano County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
29 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 9 km ESE of Black Point-Green Point, California
- 2.3 6 km N of Kenwood, California
- 1.7 5 km E of Rohnert Park, California
- 1.6 4 km WSW of Rutherford, California
- 1.6 5 km ENE of Kenwood, California
- 2.4 5 km SW of Oakville, California
- 1.9 4 km N of Healdsburg, California
- 2.5 7 km S of Calistoga, California
- 1.5 5 km E of Healdsburg, California
- 1.6 5 km E of Healdsburg, California
- 2.3 4 km E of Healdsburg, California
- 1.6 4 km WSW of Rutherford, California
- 1.5 5 km SW of Oakville, California
- 1.9 7 km S of Calistoga, California
- 1.6 3 km NNW of Bloomfield, California
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . 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.