Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near San Francisco, CA
USGS: 5 km SSW of Muir Beach, California
16 km (10 mi) WNW of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 12:20 pm PDT on 9 July 2016 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) WNW of San Francisco, CA · earthquakes near San Francisco
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 5.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Marin County, 29 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 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 1522 days ago
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) WNW of San Francisco, CA, at 12:20 pm PDT on 9 July 2016 (19:20 UTC). 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Tamalpais Valley, Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, Marin City, Sausalito, Mill Valley, Strawberry.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 9 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 19 km SSE 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 37.8177, -122.5963. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marin County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Solano County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 3 km NNW of Castro Valley, California
- 1.6 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 1.5 5 km WNW of Broadmoor, California
- 2.4 2 km SSE of Berkeley, California
- 1.6 1 km NW of Acalanes Ridge, California
- 2.0 1 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 1.5 1 km NNW of Piedmont, California
- 2.2 0 km NW of Piedmont, California
- 2.3 1 km NW of Piedmont, California
- 1.5 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 1.6 1 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 2.9 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 1.7 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 1.6 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
- 1.7 1 km SSE of East Richmond Heights, 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.