QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Oakland, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Oakland in the 24 hours to 3:52 am PST (11:52 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 7 km (4 mi) NNE, at 6:23 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 114 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oakland

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east of Oakland, CA, at 10:41 pm PST on 8 March 2019 (06:41 UTC), 8.3 km deep. 681 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km NE of Oakland, CA

5 km (3 mi) NNE of Oakland, CA

10:41 pm PST, Mar 8, 2019 · · 8.3 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Oakland Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 25 kmAlameda County 31 kmSan Mateo County 47 kmMarin County 55 kmSolano County 56 kmSan Francisco County 74 kmNapa County 78 kmSanta Clara County 79 kmSan Joaquin County 82 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
10:41 pm PST on 8 March 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east of Oakland, CA · earthquakes near Oakland
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
681 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 25 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Hayward 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 2493 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Oakland, 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: Oakland 6 km, intensity III · Alameda 7 km, intensity III · Orinda 8 km, intensity III · Berkeley 9 km, intensity III · San Leandro 10 km, intensity III · Lafayette 11 km, intensity III · Alamo 15 km, intensity II · El Cerrito 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 510 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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 220 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 32 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 38 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 44 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 30 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 37.8113, -122.1988. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 25 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Alameda County, CA 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Alameda County
San Mateo County, CA 47 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Mateo County
Marin County, CA 55 km (34 mi) WNW earthquakes near Marin County
Solano County, CA 56 km (35 mi) NNE earthquakes near Solano County
San Francisco County, CA 74 km (46 mi) W earthquakes near San Francisco County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 4km NNW of Pacifica, CA
  2. 1.8 2km ENE of Pleasant Hill, CA
  3. 2.2 3km WSW of American Canyon, CA
  4. 1.9 2km NNW of Crockett, CA
  5. 2.4 2km NNE of Pacifica, CA
  6. 2.1 2km WNW of Vallejo, CA
  7. 1.6 8km NNW of Bay Point, CA
  8. 1.5 8km NNW of Bay Point, CA
  9. 2.1 4km ENE of Oakland, CA
  10. 1.5 8km S of Muir Beach, CA
  11. 1.8 3km WSW of Muir Beach, CA
  12. 2.2 6km E of Fremont, CA
  13. 1.9 2km NW of Crockett, CA
  14. 1.6 2km S of Alamo, CA
  15. 2.2 3km ESE of Berkeley, 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.