QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Rodeo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rodeo in the 24 hours to 6:12 am PST (14:12 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 14 km (9 mi) NNE, at 11:09 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rodeo

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north of Rodeo, CA, at 5:34 pm PDT on 29 March 2019 (00:34 UTC), 7.6 km deep. 329 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4km N of Rodeo, CA

in Vallejo, CA

5:34 pm PDT, Mar 29, 2019 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 590 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 32 kmSolano County 36 kmMarin County 42 kmNapa County 49 kmAlameda County 56 kmSan Mateo County 73 kmYolo County 75 kmSan Francisco County 77 kmSonoma County 77 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
5:34 pm PDT on 29 March 2019 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) north of Rodeo, CA · earthquakes near Rodeo
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
329 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 32 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Green Valley fault, 15 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 2585 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 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Rodeo, 4 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: Vallejo 4 km, intensity III · Crockett 5 km, intensity III · Hercules 6 km, intensity III · Pinole 7 km, intensity III · Benicia 10 km, intensity III · Martinez 13 km, intensity III · San Pablo 13 km, intensity III · Richmond 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 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 190 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 43 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 17 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 48 km SSW 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 38.0652, -122.2682. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 32 km (20 mi) ESE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Solano County, CA 36 km (23 mi) NE earthquakes near Solano County
Marin County, CA 42 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near Marin County
Napa County, CA 49 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Napa County
Alameda County, CA 56 km (35 mi) SE earthquakes near Alameda County
San Mateo County, CA 73 km (45 mi) S earthquakes near San Mateo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 5km SSE of Pittsburg, CA
  2. 1.6 4km ESE of Moraga, CA
  3. 1.5 3km NE of Alamo, CA
  4. 1.8 2km NE of San Ramon, CA
  5. 1.8 2km NE of San Ramon, CA
  6. 2.0 9km N of Pittsburg, CA
  7. 1.8 11km N of Bay Point, CA
  8. 1.5 2km SW of Clayton, CA
  9. 2.2 6km WSW of Yountville, CA
  10. 1.6 1km W of Concord, CA
  11. 1.8 2km SSW of Diablo, CA
  12. 1.5 2km SSW of Diablo, CA
  13. 2.3 3km ESE of Berkeley, CA
  14. 1.5 3km ESE of Berkeley, CA
  15. 1.9 2km SSE of Crockett, 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.