QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Cobb, CA

USGS: 7 km W of Cobb, California

43 km (27 mi) NNW of Santa Rosa, CA · 121 km (75 mi) NNW of San Francisco, CA

3:21 am PDT, Sep 3, 2016 · · 3.1 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 32 kmSonoma County 35 kmNapa County 54 kmColusa County 63 kmYolo County 80 kmMarin County 86 kmMendocino County 87 kmGlenn County 93 kmSolano County 97 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
3:21 am PDT on 3 September 2016 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) W of Cobb, CA · earthquakes near Cobb
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
3.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Lake County, 32 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Konocti Bay fault, 10 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 3521 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) W of Cobb, CA, at 3:21 am PDT on 3 September 2016 (10:21 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Clear Lake Riviera, Kelseyville, Middletown, Cloverdale, Lower Lake, Soda Bay.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 41 km NW 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 38.8225, -122.8057. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, CA 32 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County
Sonoma County, CA 35 km (22 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sonoma County
Napa County, CA 54 km (34 mi) SE earthquakes near Napa County
Colusa County, CA 63 km (39 mi) NE earthquakes near Colusa County
Yolo County, CA 80 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near Yolo County
Marin County, CA 86 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near Marin County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 4 km SW of Cobb, California
  2. 1.5 6 km WNW of Cobb, California
  3. 2.0 2 km SSW of Cobb, California
  4. 1.9 7 km WNW of Cobb, California
  5. 1.9 5 km SSE of Cobb, California
  6. 2.4 15 km ENE of Clearlake Oaks, California
  7. 2.9 15 km ENE of Clearlake Oaks, California
  8. 1.7 5 km SSW of Cobb, California
  9. 1.9 7 km W of Cobb, California
  10. 1.9 5 km W of Cobb, California
  11. 2.4 5 km W of Cobb, California
  12. 2.5 7 km W of Cobb, California
  13. 1.8 9 km ESE of Hopland, California
  14. 1.5 4 km SW of Cobb, California
  15. 1.8 7 km W of Cobb, 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.