Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Pleasanton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Pleasanton in the 24 hours to 12:34 pm PST (20:34 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded in Pleasanton, CA, at 12:01 am PST on 17 November 2020 (08:01 UTC), 14 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km ESE of Pleasanton, CA
in Pleasanton, CA · 40 km (25 mi) N of San Jose, CA
- When
- 12:01 am PST on 17 November 2020 ()
- Where
- in Pleasanton, CA · earthquakes near Pleasanton
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Alameda County, 5 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pleasanton 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 1557 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pleasanton, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Pleasanton, 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 15 km (9 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: Pleasanton in town, intensity II · Livermore 8 km, intensity II · Dublin 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 98 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 98 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 1,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 40 km S of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 42 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 22 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 25 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 26 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 37.6587, -121.8567. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 5 km (3 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 30 km (19 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| Solano County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | N | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 2km WNW of Castro Valley, CA
- 1.9 2km NW of Orinda, CA
- 2.0 5km SW of Danville, CA
- 3.0 1km W of Concord, CA
- 1.9 3km S of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 1.8 6km E of Milpitas, CA
- 1.6 3km ENE of Walnut Creek, CA
- 2.1 8km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.6 10km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
- 2.2 2km S of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 1.8 15km NNE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.7 3km S of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 2.1 2km WNW of Concord, CA
- 3.6 2km W of Concord, CA
- 2.0 2km NNW of Kensington, 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.