QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near American Canyon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in American Canyon in the 24 hours to 11:49 am PST (19:49 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) ESE, at 11:09 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near American Canyon

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of American Canyon, CA, at 12:18 am PST on 13 March 2022 (08:18 UTC), 8.9 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km W of American Canyon, CA

8 km (5 mi) NNW of Vallejo, CA · 46 km (28 mi) NNE of San Francisco, CA

12:18 am PST, Mar 13, 2022 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Solano County 33 kmNapa County 37 kmContra Costa County 42 kmMarin County 42 kmYolo County 65 kmSonoma County 67 kmAlameda County 68 kmSan Francisco County 82 kmSan Mateo County 85 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
12:18 am PST on 13 March 2022 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west of American Canyon, CA · earthquakes near American Canyon
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Solano County, 33 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
West Napa fault, 5 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 1703 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In American Canyon, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Vallejo 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 11,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 4 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 37 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 Northern California · 49 km WNW 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 38.1778, -122.2940. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Solano County, CA 33 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Solano County
Napa County, CA 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Napa County
Contra Costa County, CA 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Marin County, CA 42 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Marin County
Yolo County, CA 65 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yolo County
Sonoma County, CA 67 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Sonoma County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 7km NNE of Penngrove, CA
  2. 1.6 3km E of Oakland, CA
  3. 1.6 5km E of Vallejo, CA
  4. 1.6 6km ESE of Penngrove, CA
  5. 1.5 6km NE of Santa Rosa, CA
  6. 1.5 12km E of Yountville, CA
  7. 2.2 6km ESE of Penngrove, CA
  8. 1.6 9km NNE of Benicia, CA
  9. 1.9 1km W of Martinez, CA
  10. 1.7 5km SSW of Calistoga, CA
  11. 1.6 2km NNE of Pleasant Hill, CA
  12. 1.9 7km NW of Bay Point, CA
  13. 1.8 7km NW of Bay Point, CA
  14. 2.0 6km NW of Bay Point, CA
  15. 2.2 7km NW of Bay Point, 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.