Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near San Rafael, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Rafael in the 24 hours to 6:23 am PST (14:23 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 7 km (4 mi) ENE, at 11:44 am PST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near San Rafael
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) west of San Rafael, CA, at 6:57 am PDT on 14 September 2022 (13:57 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 9km SW of Point Reyes, CA
60 km (37 mi) WNW of San Francisco, CA · 48 km (30 mi) WSW of Novato, CA
- When
- 6:57 am PDT on 14 September 2022 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) west of San Rafael, CA · earthquakes near San Rafael
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Francisco County, 25 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gregorio fault, 23 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 1518 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Rafael, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near San Rafael, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In San Rafael, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Inverness.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 Northern California · 47 km NNE 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 37.9468, -123.0713. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco County, CA | 25 km (15 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Marin County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Napa County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | E | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
29 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 6 km NE of Inverness, CA
- 1.5 7 km NW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.6 2 km S of Dillon Beach, CA
- 1.8 4 km NW of Bodega Bay, CA
- 2.0 4 km WNW of Bodega Bay, CA
- 1.6 6 km NW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 2.5 1 km S of Inverness, CA
- 2.0 32 km SSW of Point Reyes, CA
- 2.1 8 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.7 7 km SSW of Muir Beach, CA
- 2.2 7 km SSW of Muir Beach, CA
- 2.0 8 km S of Muir Beach, CA
- 1.7 6 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.7 6 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.7 6 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, 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.