Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Pittsburg, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pittsburg in the 24 hours to 4:50 am PST (12:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 15 km (9 mi) WSW, at 1:23 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 39 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pittsburg
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) northwest of Pittsburg, CA, at 11:18 am PST on 7 December 2019 (19:18 UTC), 17 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km NW of Pittsburg, CA
in Pittsburg, CA · 54 km (34 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 11:18 am PST on 7 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) northwest of Pittsburg, CA · earthquakes near Pittsburg
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 14 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Greenville fault, 9 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 2526 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pittsburg, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Pittsburg, 2 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: Bay Point, Antioch, Clayton, Concord, Pacheco, Vine Hill.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 37 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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 4,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 26 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 28 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 37 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 28 km SSE 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 38.0438, -121.9030. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 14 km (9 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Solano County, CA | 25 km (16 mi) | N | earthquakes near Solano County |
| Alameda County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | S | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| Napa County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Sacramento County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Sacramento County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 1km WSW of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 2.3 1km W of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 1.8 1km S of San Ramon, CA
- 1.7 4km NNW of Pittsburg, CA
- 2.4 3km NW of Pittsburg, CA
- 1.6 4km ENE of Walnut Creek, CA
- 1.6 1km N of San Pablo, CA
- 2.0 12km SW of Byron, CA
- 1.7 1km NE of Diablo, CA
- 2.1 1km NE of Diablo, CA
- 1.8 0km E of Diablo, CA
- 1.5 0km E of Diablo, CA
- 1.5 2km WNW of Concord, CA
- 1.6 15km N of Green Valley, CA
- 1.7 3km ENE of San Ramon, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.