Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Pleasanton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pleasanton in the 24 hours to 4:23 am PST (12:23 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 9 km (6 mi) W, at 10:32 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pleasanton
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Pleasanton, CA, at 2:54 am PDT on 17 March 2020 (09:54 UTC), 6.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NW of Sunol, CA
5 km (3 mi) SW of Pleasanton, CA · 39 km (25 mi) NNW of San Jose, CA
- When
- 2:54 am PDT on 17 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 6 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Pleasanton, CA · earthquakes near Pleasanton
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 6.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Alameda County, 2 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras fault, 2 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 2429 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pleasanton, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Pleasanton, 6 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.
Likely felt in: Pleasanton 6 km, intensity II · Dublin 7 km, intensity II · Union City 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 27 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 28 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 27 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 37.6390, -121.9303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 2 km (1 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | N | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 67 km (41 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| Solano County, CA | 70 km (43 mi) | N | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 1km W of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 1.5 1km SSE of San Ramon, CA
- 2.2 13km ESE of Seven Trees, CA
- 1.9 1km S of San Ramon, CA
- 1.7 11km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.3 11km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.5 11km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.3 11km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.4 11km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.2 11km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.3 11km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.0 11km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.9 11km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.6 10km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.8 10km E of Alum Rock, 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.