Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.1mw
Earthquake near Santa Rosa, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Santa Rosa in the 24 hours to 2:19 pm PST (22:19 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 5 km (3 mi) NE, at 2:01 pm PDT on 23 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Santa Rosa
This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) north of Santa Rosa, CA, at 4:57 am PDT on 25 March 2020 (11:57 UTC), 2.1 km deep. 243 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km NNW of The Geysers, CA
39 km (24 mi) N of Santa Rosa, CA · 116 km (72 mi) NNW of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 4:57 am PDT on 25 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) north of Santa Rosa, CA · earthquakes near Santa Rosa
- Magnitude
- M 4.1 (mw)
- Depth
- 2.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 243 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Sonoma County, 33 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Maacama fault, 11 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 2343 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Santa Rosa, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Santa Rosa, CA. No account or email needed.
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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 102 km (63 mi) from the epicentre. In Santa Rosa, 39 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: Cobb 5 km, intensity IV · Cloverdale 22 km, intensity III · Healdsburg 22 km, intensity III · Clearlake 22 km, intensity III · Windsor 27 km, intensity III · Calistoga 28 km, intensity III · Lakeport 31 km, intensity III · Angwin 36 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 9,100× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.1 about 19 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 39× more
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 5.0 on 2016-12-14 — about 27 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 46 km NW 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 38.7903, -122.7650. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoma County, CA | 33 km (20 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| Lake County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | N | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Napa County, CA | 49 km (31 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Colusa County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Yolo County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | E | earthquakes near Yolo County |
| Marin County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | S | earthquakes near Marin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 1km NNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 9km NNE of Larkfield-Wikiup, CA
- 1.8 7km W of Cobb, CA
- 1.9 7km SSE of Talmage, CA
- 1.7 8km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 1.9 2km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 10km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 1.6 6km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.6 12km W of Lakeport, CA
- 1.5 14km ESE of Boonville, CA
- 2.1 7km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 7km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.7 1km ENE of The Geysers, 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.