QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near San Francisco, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) SSW of San Francisco, CA, at 4:35 am PDT on 14 August 2016 (11:35 UTC), 14 km deep.

This was on 14 August 2016. The latest near San Francisco: M 2.8 on 13 August 2026.

USGS: 1 km SSE of Noe Valley, California

in San Francisco, CA

4:35 am PDT, Aug 14, 2016 · · 14 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Francisco Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Mateo County 36 kmMarin County 44 kmContra Costa County 47 kmAlameda County 47 kmSan Francisco County 53 kmSolano County 73 kmNapa County 86 kmSanta Clara County 87 kmSanta Cruz County 89 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
4:35 am PDT on 14 August 2016 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) SSW of San Francisco, CA · earthquakes near San Francisco
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Mateo County, 36 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Serra fault, 7 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 San Francisco, 4 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: Bayview-Hunters Point, Daly City, Brisbane, Colma, Broadmoor, South San Francisco.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 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 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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:

  1. 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 11 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 9 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 37.7388, -122.4303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Mateo County, CA 36 km (23 mi) S earthquakes near San Mateo County
Marin County, CA 44 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Marin County
Contra Costa County, CA 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Alameda County, CA 47 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Alameda County
San Francisco County, CA 53 km (33 mi) W earthquakes near San Francisco County
Solano County, CA 73 km (45 mi) NE earthquakes near Solano County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 1 km NE of Pacifica, California
  2. 2.9 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
  3. 1.7 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
  4. 1.6 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
  5. 1.7 1 km SSE of East Richmond Heights, California
  6. 1.6 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
  7. 2.0 11 km S of Half Moon Bay, California
  8. 1.7 3 km SSE of Portola Valley, California
  9. 2.1 3 km SSE of Portola Valley, California
  10. 1.8 3 km W of Orinda, California
  11. 2.0 3 km W of Orinda, California
  12. 1.8 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
  13. 1.8 5 km ENE of Chinatown, California
  14. 1.5 2 km N of Piedmont, California
  15. 1.8 10 km NW of Broadmoor, 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.