QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Livermore, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) E of Livermore, CA, at 10:04 pm PDT on 26 July 2016 (05:04 UTC), 13 km deep.

This was on 26 July 2016. The latest near Livermore: M 2.6 on 27 September 2026.

USGS: 13 km E of Livermore, California

13 km (8 mi) E of Livermore, CA · 46 km (28 mi) NNE of San Jose, CA

10:04 pm PDT, Jul 26, 2016 · · 13 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Livermore Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alameda County 26 kmContra Costa County 40 kmSan Joaquin County 42 kmSanta Clara County 51 kmStanislaus County 55 kmSolano County 72 kmSan Mateo County 73 kmSanta Cruz County 81 kmSacramento County 90 km
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
10:04 pm PDT on 26 July 2016 ()
Where
14 km (8 mi) E of Livermore, CA · earthquakes near Livermore
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alameda County, 26 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Corral Hollow-Carnegie 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 3532 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Livermore, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mountain House, Tracy, Byron, Pleasanton, Discovery Bay, Dublin.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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:

  1. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 41 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 23 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 23 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 30 km SSW 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 37.6730, -121.6133. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA 26 km (16 mi) W earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA 40 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Contra Costa County
San Joaquin County, CA 42 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Santa Clara County, CA 51 km (31 mi) S earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Stanislaus County, CA 55 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Solano County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Solano County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 14 km N of Morgan Hill, California
  2. 1.6 9 km NNE of East Foothills, California
  3. 2.5 16 km E of Seven Trees, California
  4. 2.3 16 km E of Seven Trees, California
  5. 2.1 6 km S of Sunol, California
  6. 2.2 7 km E of Blackhawk, California
  7. 1.9 2 km ENE of Diablo, California
  8. 2.4 8 km NNE of East Foothills, California
  9. 1.6 1 km NW of Ashland, California
  10. 1.5 10 km N of Livermore, California
  11. 2.2 0 km NE of North Gate, California
  12. 1.7 13 km ENE of East Foothills, California
  13. 1.8 9 km WSW of Taft Mosswood, California
  14. 1.9 2 km ESE of San Ramon, California
  15. 1.8 11 km ESE of East Foothills, 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

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