QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Livermore, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Livermore in the 24 hours to 3:05 am PST (11:05 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Livermore, CA, at 3:35 pm PDT on 30 September 2022 (22:35 UTC), 7.7 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 24km SSE of Livermore, CA

29 km (18 mi) NE of San Jose, CA · 24 km (15 mi) SSE of Livermore, CA

3:35 pm PDT, Sep 30, 2022 · · 7.7 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alameda County 30 kmSanta Clara County 32 kmContra Costa County 55 kmStanislaus County 55 kmSan Joaquin County 57 kmSanta Cruz County 64 kmSan Mateo County 67 kmMerced County 87 kmSolano County 89 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
3:35 pm PDT on 30 September 2022 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Livermore, CA · earthquakes near Livermore
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
7.7 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Alameda County, 30 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Greenville fault, 9 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 1503 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Livermore, 24 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: East Foothills, Milpitas, Pleasanton.

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 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× 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 4.3 on 2019-07-16 — about 6,200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 44 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 28 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 22 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 45 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 37.5035, -121.6227. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA 30 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alameda County
Santa Clara County, CA 32 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Contra Costa County, CA 55 km (34 mi) NNW earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Stanislaus County, CA 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Stanislaus County
San Joaquin County, CA 57 km (35 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Joaquin County
Santa Cruz County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near Santa Cruz County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 7km ESE of Pleasanton, CA
  2. 1.5 9km NNE of Milpitas, CA
  3. 1.9 3km E of Morgan Hill, CA
  4. 1.9 4km ENE of San Ramon, CA
  5. 2.1 16km N of Morgan Hill, CA
  6. 1.6 6km ESE of Pleasanton, CA
  7. 1.6 15km N of Morgan Hill, CA
  8. 1.8 7km SE of Pleasanton, CA
  9. 2.8 9km NE of Alum Rock, CA
  10. 2.8 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
  11. 2.0 7km ESE of Pleasanton, CA
  12. 1.7 7km SE of Pleasanton, CA
  13. 2.8 14km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
  14. 1.5 6km SE of Pleasanton, CA
  15. 1.8 6km SE of Pleasanton, 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.