Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Penngrove, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Penngrove in the 24 hours to 5:21 am PST (13:21 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 15 km (9 mi) NE, at 3:31 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Penngrove
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east of Penngrove, CA, at 10:23 pm PDT on 3 May 2020 (05:23 UTC), 4.7 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km E of Penngrove, CA
7 km (4 mi) N of Petaluma, CA · 61 km (38 mi) NNW of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 10:23 pm PDT on 3 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) east of Penngrove, CA · earthquakes near Penngrove
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Marin County, 30 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bennett Valley fault, 7 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 2380 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Penngrove, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Penngrove, 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 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Penngrove, 3 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: Rohnert Park 7 km, intensity II · Petaluma 8 km, intensity II · Agua Caliente 13 km, intensity II · Kenwood 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 24 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 30 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 15 km W of this epicentre
- 5.3 Northern California · 17 km W 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 38.3038, -122.6343. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marin County, CA | 30 km (18 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Napa County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| Solano County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 73 km (46 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 13km ESE of Angwin, CA
- 3.5 13km E of Angwin, CA
- 1.5 15km E of Angwin, CA
- 1.6 15km E of Angwin, CA
- 1.8 5km NNE of Black Point-Green Point, CA
- 1.5 5km N of Kenwood, CA
- 1.9 6km WSW of St. Helena, CA
- 1.6 4km S of Larkfield-Wikiup, CA
- 2.3 6km W of Glen Ellen, CA
- 1.5 12km S of The Geysers, CA
- 1.6 11km S of The Geysers, CA
- 1.9 4km S of Anderson Springs, CA
- 2.6 4km SE of Larkfield-Wikiup, CA
- 1.5 8km WNW of Yountville, CA
- 2.7 2km SSE of Crockett, 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.