Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2md
Earthquake near Blackhawk, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Blackhawk in the 24 hours to 2:41 am PST (10:41 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 5 km (3 mi) WNW, at 7:18 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Blackhawk
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Blackhawk, CA, at 2:42 pm PST on 21 February 2019 (22:42 UTC), 4.2 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km ENE of Blackhawk, CA
12 km (7 mi) SW of Brentwood, CA · 62 km (39 mi) N of San Jose, CA
- When
- 2:42 pm PST on 21 February 2019 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Blackhawk, CA · earthquakes near Blackhawk
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 4.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 15 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Greenville 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 2816 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blackhawk, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Blackhawk, 10 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: Brentwood 13 km, intensity II · Antioch 16 km, intensity II · San Ramon 17 km, intensity II · Oakley 18 km, intensity II · Danville 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 58 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 1,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 4 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 47 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 50 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 15 km SE 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 37.8572, -121.8048. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 15 km (9 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 25 km (16 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Solano County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | S | earthquakes near Santa Clara 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.
- 1.9 2km SSE of Crockett, CA
- 1.8 2km ENE of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 1.9 2km NNW of Crockett, CA
- 2.1 2km WNW of Vallejo, CA
- 2.1 4km WNW of Mountain House, CA
- 3.0 6km WNW of Mountain House, CA
- 1.6 8km NNW of Bay Point, CA
- 1.5 8km NNW of Bay Point, CA
- 2.1 4km ENE of Oakland, CA
- 1.8 8km NE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.1 10km NW of Rio Vista, CA
- 1.8 10km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.2 6km E of Fremont, CA
- 1.8 5km NW of Mountain House, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.