QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Rohnert Park, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rohnert Park in the 24 hours to 6:21 am PST (14:21 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 14 km (9 mi) ENE, at 3:31 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rohnert Park

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east of Rohnert Park, CA, at 3:16 pm PST on 9 January 2017 (23:16 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 6 km E of Rohnert Park, California

13 km (8 mi) SSE of Santa Rosa, CA · 12 km (7 mi) N of Petaluma, CA

3:16 pm PST, Jan 9, 2017 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Napa County 32 kmSonoma County 32 kmMarin County 35 kmSolano County 61 kmYolo County 73 kmContra Costa County 76 kmSan Francisco County 77 kmLake County 85 kmColusa County 98 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
3:16 pm PST on 9 January 2017 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east of Rohnert Park, CA · earthquakes near Rohnert Park
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Napa County, 32 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Bennett Valley fault, 5 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 3585 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Rohnert Park, 6 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.

Likely felt in: Rohnert Park 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 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 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 32 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 16 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 Northern California · 17 km W 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 38.3485, -122.6322. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Napa County, CA 32 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Napa County
Sonoma County, CA 32 km (20 mi) NW earthquakes near Sonoma County
Marin County, CA 35 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Marin County
Solano County, CA 61 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near Solano County
Yolo County, CA 73 km (46 mi) ENE earthquakes near Yolo County
Contra Costa County, CA 76 km (47 mi) SE earthquakes near Contra Costa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 6 km S of Cobb, California
  2. 1.6 3 km NNW of Bloomfield, California
  3. 2.2 6 km WSW of Moskowite Corner, California
  4. 2.0 14 km NNW of Moskowite Corner, California
  5. 2.3 14 km E of Angwin, California
  6. 1.5 5 km SW of Cobb, California
  7. 1.6 Northern California
  8. 1.8 14 km E of Angwin, California
  9. 2.3 14 km NNW of Moskowite Corner, California
  10. 1.7 14 km NNW of Moskowite Corner, California
  11. 3.2 14 km E of Angwin, California
  12. 2.0 14 km NNW of Moskowite Corner, California
  13. 1.6 7 km S of Cobb, California
  14. 2.3 6 km S of Cobb, California
  15. 1.7 4 km N of Guerneville, 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.