Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Berkeley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Berkeley in the 24 hours to 8:53 am PST (16:53 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 2 km (2 mi) E, at 6:31 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Berkeley
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Berkeley, CA, at 11:49 am PDT on 28 September 2020 (18:49 UTC), 5.7 km deep. 19 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km ESE of Berkeley, CA
18 km (11 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA · 6 km (3 mi) E of Berkeley, CA
- When
- 11:49 am PDT on 28 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Berkeley, CA · earthquakes near Berkeley
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 5.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 19 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 26 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hayward fault, under 1 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 413 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Berkeley, CA
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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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Berkeley, 4 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: Berkeley 4 km, intensity II · Orinda 5 km, intensity II · Oakland 7 km, intensity II · El Cerrito 9 km, intensity II · Alameda 10 km, intensity II · Lafayette 11 km, intensity II · Richmond 13 km, intensity II · San Pablo 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 44 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 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 3,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 40 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 41 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 30 km SW 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 37.8582, -122.2367. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Marin County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Solano County, CA | 52 km (33 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 3km WNW of Concord, CA
- 1.5 3km NNE of Vine Hill, CA
- 3.3 7km S of Muir Beach, CA
- 2.6 0km E of San Pablo, CA
- 2.6 1km WNW of Bay Point, CA
- 1.9 2km NNE of San Leandro, CA
- 1.6 2km NW of Bay Point, CA
- 1.7 2km E of Berkeley, CA
- 1.8 2km SE of Pacheco, CA
- 1.6 3km ESE of Pacheco, CA
- 2.5 0km SE of Rollingwood, CA
- 1.6 0km SE of Rollingwood, CA
- 2.1 4km ESE of Hayward, CA
- 2.1 4km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 1.7 4km WNW of Dublin, 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.