quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1mh
Earthquake near Calistoga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Calistoga in the 24 hours to 12:04 am PST (08:04 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 33 km (21 mi) NW, at 11:06 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Calistoga
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.1 quarry blast was recorded 7 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Calistoga, CA, at 6:46 am PDT on 18 August 2023 (13:46 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km WSW of Calistoga, CA
13 km (8 mi) NNE of Santa Rosa, CA
- When
- 6:46 am PDT on 18 August 2023 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Calistoga, CA · earthquakes near Calistoga
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (mh)
- Depth
- -0.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Sonoma County, 23 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Maacama fault, 1 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 1181 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Calistoga, 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 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Calistoga, 7 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: Calistoga 7 km, intensity II · Santa Rosa 14 km, intensity II · Windsor 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 5.0 on 2016-12-14 — about 23,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 48 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 30 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 Northern California · 30 km SSW 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 38.5547, -122.6598. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonoma County, CA | 23 km (15 mi) | W | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| Napa County, CA | 30 km (18 mi) | E | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Marin County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | S | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Lake County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | N | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Yolo County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Yolo County |
| Solano County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 11 km E of Yountville, CA
- 2.0 7 km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 7 km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 7 km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 4 km W of Cobb, CA
- 1.7 1 km NE of The Geysers, CA
- 1.7 3 km NNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 2 km W of Anderson Springs, CA
- 1.7 8 km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 2.4 4 km W of Glen Ellen, CA
- 1.6 7 km WNW of Yountville, CA
- 1.6 3 km NE of The Geysers, CA
- 1.7 10 km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.6 7 km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 1.8 3 km WNW of Boyes Hot Springs, 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.