QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Byron, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Byron in the 24 hours to 4:07 am PST (12:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 53 km (33 mi) SSE, at 7:21 am PDT on 27 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Byron

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Byron, CA, at 10:24 am PDT on 25 July 2019 (17:24 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 13km SW of Byron, CA

13 km (8 mi) N of Livermore, CA · 56 km (35 mi) N of San Jose, CA

10:24 am PDT, Jul 25, 2019 · · 10 km deep · released about 9 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 21 kmAlameda County 22 kmSan Joaquin County 45 kmSolano County 54 kmSanta Clara County 65 kmSan Mateo County 69 kmStanislaus County 72 kmSacramento County 81 kmSanta Cruz County 90 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
10:24 am PDT on 25 July 2019 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) southwest of Byron, CA · earthquakes near Byron
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 21 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Greenville fault, 6 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 2667 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Byron, 13 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Blackhawk, Livermore, Brentwood, Diablo, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 12,000 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. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 4 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 36 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 41 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 8 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 6 km E of East Foothills, California · 45 km S 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 37.8017, -121.7598. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Alameda County, CA 22 km (14 mi) SW earthquakes near Alameda County
San Joaquin County, CA 45 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Solano County, CA 54 km (34 mi) NNW earthquakes near Solano County
Santa Clara County, CA 65 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Santa Clara County
San Mateo County, CA 69 km (43 mi) SW earthquakes near San Mateo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  2. 1.6 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  3. 1.6 4km N of Dublin, CA
  4. 1.6 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  5. 2.2 4km N of Dublin, CA
  6. 2.8 4km N of Dublin, CA
  7. 1.8 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  8. 1.6 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  9. 2.6 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  10. 1.6 3km SW of Clayton, CA
  11. 2.3 3km NE of Orinda, CA
  12. 1.6 4km N of Dublin, CA
  13. 1.6 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  14. 1.6 4km NNE of Dublin, CA
  15. 2.0 4km N of Dublin, 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.