QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Concord, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Concord in the 24 hours to 5:50 am PST (13:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 5 km (3 mi) SW, at 4:05 am PST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Concord

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Concord, CA, at 11:26 am PST on 14 January 2021 (19:26 UTC), 13 km deep. 106 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km WNW of Concord, CA

in Concord, CA

11:26 am PST, Jan 14, 2021 · · 13 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Contra Costa County 10 kmSolano County 33 kmAlameda County 38 kmMarin County 63 kmNapa County 64 kmSan Joaquin County 67 kmSan Mateo County 69 kmYolo County 79 kmSacramento County 80 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:26 am PST on 14 January 2021 ()
Where
in Concord, CA · earthquakes near Concord
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
106 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Contra Costa County, 10 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Concord 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 2126 days ago

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 12 km (7 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: Concord in town, intensity II · Pacheco 4 km, intensity II · Pleasant Hill 4 km, intensity II · Walnut Creek 8 km, intensity II · Martinez 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 2,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 36 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 29 km SE 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 37.9758, -122.0352. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Contra Costa County, CA 10 km (6 mi) SE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Solano County, CA 33 km (21 mi) NNE earthquakes near Solano County
Alameda County, CA 38 km (24 mi) SSE earthquakes near Alameda County
Marin County, CA 63 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Marin County
Napa County, CA 64 km (40 mi) NNW earthquakes near Napa County
San Joaquin County, CA 67 km (42 mi) E earthquakes near San Joaquin County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 5km NW of Dublin, CA
  2. 1.9 6km SW of Clayton, CA
  3. 1.7 2km ESE of Berkeley, CA
  4. 1.8 2km ESE of Berkeley, CA
  5. 1.5 4km NW of Dublin, CA
  6. 1.6 1km ENE of Alameda, CA
  7. 1.9 1km N of East Richmond Heights, CA
  8. 1.6 2km W of Concord, CA
  9. 1.5 0km NW of Danville, CA
  10. 2.1 1km WNW of Danville, CA
  11. 2.8 2km N of Piedmont, CA
  12. 1.5 5km E of Vallejo, CA
  13. 1.7 7km W of Newark, CA
  14. 2.5 2km N of Piedmont, CA
  15. 1.8 3km WSW of Oakley, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.