QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near San Ramon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in San Ramon in the 24 hours to 11:11 am PST (19:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 6 km (4 mi) NNE, at 7:18 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near San Ramon

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of San Ramon, CA, at 10:16 pm PDT on 11 March 2019 (05:16 UTC), 11 km deep. 128 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km NNE of San Ramon, CA

5 km (3 mi) NW of San Ramon, CA · 40 km (25 mi) E of San Francisco, CA

10:16 pm PDT, Mar 11, 2019 · · 11 km deep · released about 330 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Ramon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 13 kmAlameda County 18 kmSolano County 52 kmSan Mateo County 56 kmSan Joaquin County 63 kmSanta Clara County 69 kmMarin County 74 kmNapa County 84 kmSanta Cruz 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
10:16 pm PDT on 11 March 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of San Ramon, CA · earthquakes near San Ramon
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
128 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 13 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Pleasanton 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 2800 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In San Ramon, 3 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: San Ramon 3 km, intensity III · Danville 3 km, intensity III · Alamo 8 km, intensity II · Dublin 12 km, intensity II · Walnut Creek 14 km, intensity II · Castro Valley 16 km, intensity II · Lafayette 16 km, intensity II · Pleasanton 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 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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 340 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 18 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 24 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 48 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 37.8035, -121.9678. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Alameda County, CA 18 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Alameda County
Solano County, CA 52 km (32 mi) N earthquakes near Solano County
San Mateo County, CA 56 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near San Mateo County
San Joaquin County, CA 63 km (39 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Santa Clara County, CA 69 km (43 mi) SSE earthquakes near Santa Clara 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. 1.8 2km ENE of Pleasant Hill, CA
  2. 2.2 3km WSW of American Canyon, CA
  3. 1.9 2km NNW of Crockett, CA
  4. 2.4 2km NNE of Pacifica, CA
  5. 2.1 2km WNW of Vallejo, CA
  6. 2.1 4km WNW of Mountain House, CA
  7. 3.0 6km WNW of Mountain House, CA
  8. 1.6 8km NNW of Bay Point, CA
  9. 1.5 8km NNW of Bay Point, CA
  10. 2.1 4km ENE of Oakland, CA
  11. 1.8 8km NE of Alum Rock, CA
  12. 2.1 10km NW of Rio Vista, CA
  13. 1.8 10km ENE of Milpitas, CA
  14. 1.6 8km NE of Alum Rock, CA
  15. 2.2 6km E of Fremont, 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.