Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Berkeley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Berkeley in the 24 hours to 11:41 pm PST (07:41 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Berkeley, CA, at 9:12 pm PST on 2 February 2021 (05:12 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 661 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km ESE of Berkeley, CA
18 km (11 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA · in Berkeley, CA
- When
- 9:12 pm PST on 2 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Berkeley, CA · earthquakes near Berkeley
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 9.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 661 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 1519 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Berkeley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Berkeley, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Berkeley, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 3 km, intensity III · Orinda 6 km, intensity III · Oakland 7 km, intensity III · El Cerrito 8 km, intensity II · Alameda 10 km, intensity II · Lafayette 11 km, intensity II · Richmond 12 km, intensity II · San Pablo 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 270 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 57,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 40,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 270 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 560 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 · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 49 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 37.8632, -122.2435. 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 | 38 km (23 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Marin County, CA | 49 km (30 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 (32 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
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 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
- 1.7 2km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.8 2km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.5 4km NW of Dublin, CA
- 1.6 1km ENE of Alameda, CA
- 2.3 12km SW of Muir Beach, CA
- 1.9 1km N of East Richmond Heights, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Concord, CA
- 1.5 0km NW of Danville, CA
- 1.6 4km NNW of Pacifica, 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.