QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Castro Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Castro Valley in the 24 hours to 11:47 pm PST (07:47 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 10:32 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Castro Valley

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Castro Valley, CA, at 12:33 am PST on 26 February 2018 (08:33 UTC), 5.8 km deep. 21 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6km NNE of Castro Valley, CA

14 km (9 mi) E of Oakland, CA · 10 km (6 mi) ENE of San Leandro, CA

12:33 am PST, Feb 26, 2018 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 54 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alameda County 17 kmContra Costa County 22 kmSan Mateo County 46 kmSolano County 59 kmSanta Clara County 67 kmMarin County 69 kmSan Joaquin County 73 kmSanta Cruz County 82 kmSan Francisco 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
12:33 am PST on 26 February 2018 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Castro Valley, CA · earthquakes near Castro Valley
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
21 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Alameda County, 17 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Hayward 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 3041 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Castro Valley, 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: Castro Valley 6 km, intensity II · San Leandro 8 km, intensity II · San Ramon 9 km, intensity II · Hayward 9 km, intensity II · San Lorenzo 10 km, intensity II · Danville 10 km, intensity II · Alamo 12 km, intensity II · Dublin 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 54 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 280,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 54 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 4.4 on 2018-01-04 — about 2,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 43 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 45 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 43 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 32 km E 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 37.7467, -122.0652. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA 17 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA 22 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
San Mateo County, CA 46 km (28 mi) SW earthquakes near San Mateo County
Solano County, CA 59 km (37 mi) N earthquakes near Solano County
Santa Clara County, CA 67 km (42 mi) SSE earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Marin County, CA 69 km (43 mi) WNW earthquakes near Marin County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 5km NNW of Diablo, CA
  2. 3.3 5km NE of Alamo, CA
  3. 1.9 2km ENE of Danville, CA
  4. 2.9 2km E of Danville, CA
  5. 1.5 2km E of Danville, CA
  6. 2.4 2km ENE of Danville, CA
  7. 1.5 2km E of Danville, CA
  8. 2.7 2km NE of Danville, CA
  9. 1.9 2km E of Danville, CA
  10. 2.1 2km W of Diablo, CA
  11. 2.9 2km WSW of Diablo, CA
  12. 1.5 2km W of Diablo, CA
  13. 1.5 2km E of Danville, CA
  14. 1.7 4km ENE of Walnut Creek, CA
  15. 1.7 9km NE of Milpitas, CA

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.