QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Cobb, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Cobb in the last 24 hours. M 1.6, 4 km (2 mi) W of Cobb, at 6:16 am PST on 12 November 2026 (14:16 UTC); the estimated shaking in Cobb was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Cobb

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Cobb, CA, at 4:22 am PDT on 31 July 2017 (11:22 UTC), 1.8 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8 km S of Cobb, California

34 km (21 mi) N of Santa Rosa, CA · 111 km (69 mi) NNW of San Francisco, CA

4:22 am PDT, Jul 31, 2017 · · 1.8 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sonoma County 30 kmLake County 40 kmNapa County 44 kmColusa County 64 kmYolo County 71 kmMarin County 77 kmSolano County 87 kmSutter County 94 kmMendocino 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
4:22 am PDT on 31 July 2017 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south of Cobb, CA · earthquakes near Cobb
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
1.8 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Sonoma County, 30 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Maacama 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 3381 days ago

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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Cobb, 8 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: Cobb 8 km, intensity III · Healdsburg 20 km, intensity II · Calistoga 22 km, intensity II · Windsor 24 km, intensity II · Clearlake 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.0 on 2016-12-14 — about 2,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 49 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 Northern California · 48 km S 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 38.7478, -122.7218. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sonoma County, CA 30 km (19 mi) SW earthquakes near Sonoma County
Lake County, CA 40 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County
Napa County, CA 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Napa County
Colusa County, CA 64 km (39 mi) NE earthquakes near Colusa County
Yolo County, CA 71 km (44 mi) E earthquakes near Yolo County
Marin County, CA 77 km (48 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. 1.7 5 km S of Cobb, California
  2. 1.6 5 km WNW of Cobb, California
  3. 1.6 5 km SSW of Cobb, California
  4. 1.9 4 km SSW of Cobb, California
  5. 1.6 5 km SSW of Cobb, California
  6. 1.9 8 km W of Cobb, California
  7. 1.8 5km NW of The Geysers, CA
  8. 2.1 6 km WSW of Cobb, California
  9. 1.6 7km NW of The Geysers, CA
  10. 1.6 1km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  11. 3.5 5 km WSW of Cobb, California
  12. 2.5 12 km ENE of Cloverdale, California
  13. 1.6 2km NW of The Geysers, CA
  14. 1.8 1km SSW of Anderson Springs, CA
  15. 1.9 3 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.