QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Pittsburg, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Pittsburg in the 24 hours to 7:06 am PST (15:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 15 km (9 mi) WSW, at 1:23 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 39 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pittsburg

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of Pittsburg, CA, at 12:26 am PDT on 8 May 2018 (07:26 UTC), 19 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km W of Pittsburg, CA

in Pittsburg, CA · 52 km (32 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA

12:26 am PDT, May 8, 2018 · · 19 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 13 kmSolano County 26 kmAlameda County 43 kmSan Joaquin County 58 kmNapa County 64 kmSacramento County 68 kmYolo County 72 kmMarin County 72 kmSan Mateo County 79 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
12:26 am PDT on 8 May 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west of Pittsburg, CA · earthquakes near Pittsburg
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 13 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Greenville fault, 8 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 3103 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Pittsburg, 3 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bay Point, Clayton, Antioch, Concord, Pacheco, Pleasant Hill.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 3,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 30 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 37 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 28 km SSE 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 38.0328, -121.9197. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Solano County, CA 26 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Solano County
Alameda County, CA 43 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Alameda County
San Joaquin County, CA 58 km (36 mi) E earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Napa County, CA 64 km (39 mi) NW earthquakes near Napa County
Sacramento County, CA 68 km (42 mi) NE earthquakes near Sacramento County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2km SW of Concord, CA
  2. 2.1 2km SSW of Dublin, CA
  3. 2.3 5km ESE of Blackhawk, CA
  4. 2.2 10km NNE of Livermore, CA
  5. 2.6 2km W of Concord, CA
  6. 1.8 4km SW of Livermore, CA
  7. 1.6 9km NNE of Livermore, CA
  8. 1.6 3km N of Piedmont, CA
  9. 2.9 12km SE of Suisun City, CA
  10. 2.2 11km NE of Napa, CA
  11. 2.9 15km ESE of Suisun City, CA
  12. 2.2 8km SE of Suisun City, CA
  13. 1.9 10km ESE of Black Point-Green Point, CA
  14. 3.7 10km ESE of Black Point-Green Point, CA
  15. 1.8 8km SE of Suisun City, 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.