Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Bethel Island, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bethel Island in the 24 hours to 1:19 am PST (09:19 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 22 km (13 mi) SW, at 6:47 am PDT on 14 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 52 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bethel Island
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Bethel Island, CA, at 3:47 pm PST on 3 November 2020 (23:47 UTC), 12 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km NNE of Bethel Island, CA
13 km (8 mi) NE of Brentwood, CA · 83 km (52 mi) N of San Jose, CA
- When
- 3:47 pm PST on 3 November 2020 ()
- Where
- in Bethel Island, CA · earthquakes near Bethel Island
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 31 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2201 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bethel Island, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bethel Island, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Oakley 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 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 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 7,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 24 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 38 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 32 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 27 km SSW 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 38.0273, -121.6310. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 33 km (21 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| Solano County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Solano County |
| Alameda County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Sacramento County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Sacramento County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 9km E of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.9 5km NW of Dublin, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of Dublin, CA
- 2.1 6km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 2.2 5km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 2.0 6km WNW of Dublin, CA
- 2.2 5km NW of Dublin, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of Dublin, CA
- 1.9 6km SW of Clayton, CA
- 1.5 4km NW of Dublin, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Concord, CA
- 1.5 0km NW of Danville, CA
- 2.1 1km WNW of Danville, CA
- 1.8 3km WSW of Oakley, CA
- 1.9 10km SSE of Elmira, 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.