QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Livermore, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) SE of Livermore, CA, at 5:04 pm PDT on 15 September 2016 (00:04 UTC), 6.9 km deep.

This was on 15 September 2016. The latest near Livermore: M 2.6 on 27 September 2026.

USGS: 21 km SE of Livermore, California

37 km (23 mi) NE of San Jose, CA · 21 km (13 mi) SSW of Tracy, CA

5:04 pm PDT, Sep 15, 2016 · · 6.9 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Livermore Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alameda County 32 kmSanta Clara County 39 kmSan Joaquin County 49 kmStanislaus County 50 kmContra Costa County 52 kmSanta Cruz County 72 kmSan Mateo County 73 kmSolano County 85 kmMerced County 85 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
5:04 pm PDT on 15 September 2016 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) SE of Livermore, CA · earthquakes near Livermore
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
6.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alameda County, 32 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Greenville fault, 6 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 3531 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Livermore, 22 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: Tracy, Mountain House, Pleasanton, East Foothills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 36 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 30 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 14 km SW 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 37.5627, -121.5708. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alameda County
Santa Clara County, CA 39 km (24 mi) SSW earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Joaquin County, CA 49 km (30 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Stanislaus County, CA 50 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Stanislaus County
Contra Costa County, CA 52 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Santa Cruz County, CA 72 km (45 mi) SSW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 3 km NNW of Castro Valley, California
  2. 2.1 3 km NNW of Castro Valley, California
  3. 2.4 6 km NE of East Foothills, California
  4. 2.1 15 km N of Morgan Hill, California
  5. 1.6 1 km SW of Blackhawk, California
  6. 2.1 0 km SW of Blackhawk, California
  7. 1.5 1 km SW of Blackhawk, California
  8. 1.6 0 km SW of Blackhawk, California
  9. 1.6 8 km ENE of Morgan Hill, California
  10. 2.0 8 km E of East Foothills, California
  11. 2.3 8 km SE of Livermore, California
  12. 1.7 6 km ESE of East Foothills, California
  13. 2.3 7 km NNE of East Foothills, California
  14. 1.9 10 km N of East Foothills, California
  15. 1.6 10 km NNE 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.