Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Livermore, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Livermore in the 24 hours to 4:29 am PST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 12 km (8 mi) SE, at 8:52 am PDT on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Livermore
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south of Livermore, CA, at 4:13 pm PDT on 1 September 2021 (23:13 UTC), 3.9 km deep. 81 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km S of Livermore, CA
7 km (4 mi) S of Livermore, CA · 37 km (23 mi) N of San Jose, CA
- When
- 4:13 pm PDT on 1 September 2021 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) south of Livermore, CA · earthquakes near Livermore
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 3.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 81 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Alameda County, 13 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Las Positas fault, 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 1506 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Livermore, CA
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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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Livermore, 6 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: Livermore 6 km, intensity III · Pleasanton 10 km, intensity III · Dublin 17 km, intensity II · Fremont 21 km, intensity II · Union City 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 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 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 620 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 36 km S of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 36 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 47 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 24 km N of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 18 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 37.6237, -121.7722. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 13 km (8 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 36 km (23 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | E | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.2 2km NE of San Ramon, CA
- 3.9 1km NE of San Ramon, CA
- 1.8 8km WSW of Mountain House, CA
- 2.0 5km E of Fremont, CA
- 1.5 11km SW of Mountain House, CA
- 1.6 6km N of San Leandro, CA
- 1.6 1km SSE of San Ramon, CA
- 2.0 9km SW of Brentwood, CA
- 2.6 8km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.9 22km NE of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.6 1km SW of Alamo, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.5 3km SSW of Clayton, CA
- 1.9 1km S of San Ramon, CA
- 1.6 9km SE of Sunol, 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.