Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Pacifica, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pacifica in the 24 hours to 12:38 pm PST (20:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 2 km (1 mi) NE, at 5:17 pm PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 526 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pacifica
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) northeast of Pacifica, CA, at 7:36 am PST on 28 November 2016 (15:36 UTC), 7.7 km deep. 723 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km NE of Pacifica, California
17 km (11 mi) SSW of San Francisco, CA · 8 km (5 mi) S of Daly City, CA
- When
- 7:36 am PST on 28 November 2016 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) northeast of Pacifica, CA · earthquakes near Pacifica
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 7.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 723 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Mateo County, 25 km SSE
- 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 2595 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pacifica, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Pacifica, 2 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Pacifica 2 km, intensity III · San Bruno 5 km, intensity III · South San Francisco 6 km, intensity III · Millbrae 8 km, intensity III · Daly City 9 km, intensity III · Burlingame 10 km, intensity III · Bayview-Hunters Point 14 km, intensity III · San Mateo 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 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 · 15 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 4 km NNW 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 37.6282, -122.4713. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County, CA | 25 km (16 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 49 km (31 mi) | E | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 51 km (31 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Marin County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 4 km SW of Broadmoor, California
- 1.8 4 km SW of Broadmoor, California
- 1.5 2 km SSW of Broadmoor, California
- 1.7 2 km ENE of Pacifica, California
- 1.9 1 km W of Diablo, California
- 1.6 1 km W of Diablo, California
- 1.7 1 km W of Diablo, California
- 2.0 5 km WSW of Martinez, California
- 1.7 1 km N of Pacifica, California
- 2.2 1 km ENE of Pacifica, California
- 1.6 1 km ENE of Pacifica, California
- 2.5 3 km NNW of Piedmont, California
- 2.4 7 km S of Muir Beach, California
- 1.9 3 km S of Loyola, California
- 1.7 5 km SW of Alamo, 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.