QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Pleasant Hill, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Pleasant Hill in the 24 hours to 1:29 am PST (09:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, in Pleasant Hill, at 4:05 am PST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pleasant Hill

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded in Pleasant Hill, CA, at 10:51 pm PDT on 14 October 2019 (05:51 UTC), 13 km deep. 261 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1km SSE of Pleasant Hill, CA

in Walnut Creek, CA · 37 km (23 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA

10:51 pm PDT, Oct 14, 2019 · · 13 km deep · released about 28 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pleasant Hill Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 9 kmAlameda County 35 kmSolano County 38 kmMarin County 62 kmSan Mateo County 65 kmNapa County 67 kmSan Joaquin County 69 kmYolo County 83 kmSacramento County 84 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
10:51 pm PDT on 14 October 2019 ()
Where
in Pleasant Hill, CA · earthquakes near Pleasant Hill
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
261 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 9 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Concord fault, 5 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Pleasant Hill in town, intensity II · Walnut Creek 4 km, intensity II · Concord 5 km, intensity II · Pacheco 5 km, intensity II · Lafayette 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 28 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 540,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 380,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 34× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 28 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 4.5 on 2019-10-15 — about 5,200 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. 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 37 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 37.9397, -122.0557. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 9 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Alameda County, CA 35 km (22 mi) SSE earthquakes near Alameda County
Solano County, CA 38 km (23 mi) NNE earthquakes near Solano County
Marin County, CA 62 km (38 mi) WNW earthquakes near Marin County
San Mateo County, CA 65 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Mateo County
Napa County, CA 67 km (42 mi) NNW earthquakes near Napa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 0km S of East Richmond Heights, CA
  2. 2.4 4km N of Lafayette, CA
  3. 1.7 4km N of Lafayette, CA
  4. 2.7 10km SE of Livermore, CA
  5. 2.4 2km E of Pacheco, CA
  6. 2.0 1km ESE of Pacheco, CA
  7. 1.9 5km NNW of San Leandro, CA
  8. 1.9 5km NE of Fairview, CA
  9. 1.6 10km ENE of Blackhawk, CA
  10. 1.6 5km NE of Fairview, CA
  11. 1.9 5km W of Dublin, CA
  12. 1.9 6km NE of Alamo, CA
  13. 2.6 3km NW of Castro Valley, CA
  14. 1.6 1km S of Pleasant Hill, CA
  15. 2.2 2km WNW of Orinda, 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.