QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Kenwood, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Kenwood in the 24 hours to 3:06 am PST (11:06 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, in Kenwood, at 12:33 am PDT on 25 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kenwood

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west of Kenwood, CA, at 8:16 pm PDT on 9 October 2017 (03:16 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 222 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km W of Kenwood, California

8 km (5 mi) ESE of Santa Rosa, CA

8:16 pm PDT, Oct 9, 2017 · · 5.9 km deep · released about 720 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Napa County 28 kmSonoma County 30 kmMarin County 42 kmSolano County 61 kmYolo County 69 kmLake County 78 kmContra Costa County 80 kmSan Francisco County 84 kmColusa County 91 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
8:16 pm PDT on 9 October 2017 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west of Kenwood, CA · earthquakes near Kenwood
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
5.9 km below the surface
Felt
222 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Napa County, 28 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Bennett Valley fault, under 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 3315 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 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Kenwood, 6 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: Kenwood 6 km, intensity III · Santa Rosa 9 km, intensity III · Rohnert Park 11 km, intensity III · Agua Caliente 15 km, intensity III · Calistoga 19 km, intensity II · Petaluma 20 km, intensity II · Windsor 23 km, intensity II · Angwin 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 720 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 35 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 20 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 Northern California · 21 km WSW 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 38.4133, -122.6188. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Napa County, CA 28 km (17 mi) ENE earthquakes near Napa County
Sonoma County, CA 30 km (18 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sonoma County
Marin County, CA 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Marin County
Solano County, CA 61 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Solano County
Yolo County, CA 69 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Yolo County
Lake County, CA 78 km (48 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7 km NE of Rohnert Park, California
  2. 1.6 12 km ESE of Hidden Valley Lake, California
  3. 1.8 6 km S of Cobb, California
  4. 1.9 6 km W of Cobb, California
  5. 1.8 6 km W of Cobb, California
  6. 1.8 8 km W of Cobb, California
  7. 1.9 7 km W of Cobb, California
  8. 1.8 8 km W of Cobb, California
  9. 1.9 4 km WSW of Cobb, California
  10. 1.5 5 km WSW of Cobb, California
  11. 2.9 3 km SSW of Cobb, California
  12. 2.0 6 km E of Geyserville, California
  13. 2.1 6 km E of Geyserville, California
  14. 1.6 8 km WSW of Cobb, California
  15. 1.6 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.