Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Livermore, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Livermore in the 24 hours to 2:55 pm PST (22:55 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) south-southeast of Livermore, CA, at 5:35 am PDT on 16 March 2023 (12:35 UTC), 3.4 km deep. 14 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 19km SSE of Livermore, CA
28 km (17 mi) NNE of San Jose, CA · 19 km (12 mi) SSE of Livermore, CA
- When
- 5:35 am PDT on 16 March 2023 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) south-southeast of Livermore, CA · earthquakes near Livermore
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 3.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 14 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Alameda County, 24 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Greenville fault, 12 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 1030 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Livermore, 19 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: Livermore 19 km, intensity II · Milpitas 22 km, intensity II · Pleasanton 22 km, intensity II · Fremont 26 km, intensity II · San Jose 27 km, intensity II · Dublin 29 km, intensity II · Union City 30 km, intensity II · Santa Clara 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 630 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 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 5.1 on 2022-10-25 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 46 km S of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 27 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 24 km S of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1979 Coyote Lake, California Earthquake · 50 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 37.5250, -121.6948. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 24 km (15 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | S | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 49 km (31 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 15km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 1.6 4km NNW of Diablo, CA
- 1.6 3km N of Danville, CA
- 1.6 2km E of Union City, CA
- 2.2 2km ENE of Union City, CA
- 2.3 11km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.9 14km N of Morgan Hill, CA
- 1.5 8km SSW of Antioch, CA
- 2.0 14km ENE of Seven Trees, CA
- 1.6 16km E of Seven Trees, CA
- 1.6 2km S of Blackhawk, CA
- 2.0 2km S of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.8 2km S of Blackhawk, CA
- 2.0 2km S of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.7 12km ESE of Alum Rock, 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.