Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Oakland, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oakland in the 24 hours to 12:52 am PST (08:52 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 7 km (4 mi) NNE, at 6:23 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 114 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oakland
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Oakland, CA, at 3:05 pm PST on 20 February 2023 (23:05 UTC), 9.9 km deep.
USGS: 2km S of Oakland, CA
in Oakland, CA
- When
- 3:05 pm PST on 20 February 2023 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Oakland, CA · earthquakes near Oakland
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 9.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 29 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hayward fault, 3 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 1358 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oakland, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oakland, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Oakland, 5 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: Alameda 3 km, intensity II · Oakland 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 20,000 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 · 29 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 41 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 46 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 26 km WSW 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 37.7807, -122.2245. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Marin County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Solano County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 7km SSE of Sunol, CA
- 1.8 6km E of San Rafael, CA
- 1.7 2km S of San Ramon, CA
- 1.9 6km SW of Antioch, CA
- 2.0 6km SW of Antioch, CA
- 2.5 6km SW of Antioch, CA
- 1.6 5km WSW of Colma, CA
- 1.7 5km SW of Antioch, CA
- 2.8 6km SW of Antioch, CA
- 2.2 6km SSW of Antioch, CA
- 2.4 6km SSW of Antioch, CA
- 2.3 6km SSW of Antioch, CA
- 2.3 5km WSW of Colma, CA
- 2.0 9km W of Brentwood, CA
- 1.7 9km ESE of Clayton, 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.