QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Fremont, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Fremont in the 24 hours to 1:55 pm PST (21:55 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 49 km (31 mi) ESE, at 7:21 am PDT on 27 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fremont

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of Fremont, CA, at 11:46 pm PDT on 19 June 2018 (06:46 UTC), 6.6 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km NE of Fremont, CA

7 km (4 mi) SE of Union City, CA · 32 km (20 mi) NNW of San Jose, CA

11:46 pm PDT, Jun 19, 2018 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alameda County 10 kmContra Costa County 39 kmSan Mateo County 40 kmSanta Clara County 45 kmSanta Cruz County 62 kmSan Joaquin County 73 kmSolano County 78 kmStanislaus County 84 kmMarin County 88 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
11:46 pm PDT on 19 June 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of Fremont, CA · earthquakes near Fremont
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Alameda County, 10 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Hayward fault, 2 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 3067 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 Fremont, 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.

Likely felt in: Fremont 3 km, intensity II · Union City 6 km, intensity II · Newark 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 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 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 18,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 33 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 7 km NNW of Boulder Creek, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 35 km NNE 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 37.5645, -121.9597. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA 10 km (6 mi) NNE earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA 39 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Contra Costa County
San Mateo County, CA 40 km (25 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Mateo County
Santa Clara County, CA 45 km (28 mi) SSE earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA 62 km (38 mi) S earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Joaquin County, CA 73 km (45 mi) NE earthquakes near San Joaquin County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 20km E of Alum Rock, CA
  2. 1.9 8km SE of Livermore, CA
  3. 2.0 4km ESE of Union City, CA
  4. 1.7 8km NNE of Milpitas, CA
  5. 1.6 14km E of Seven Trees, CA
  6. 1.7 17km SE of Livermore, CA
  7. 1.8 9km NNE of Alum Rock, CA
  8. 1.9 10km ESE of Sunol, CA
  9. 1.6 11km NE of Milpitas, CA
  10. 2.1 2km NE of Oakland, CA
  11. 2.8 2km NE of Oakland, CA
  12. 2.8 9km ENE of Milpitas, CA
  13. 2.0 1km S of Pleasant Hill, CA
  14. 1.5 2km WSW of San Lorenzo, CA
  15. 3.4 9km ENE 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.