QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Fairview, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairview in the 24 hours to 4:58 pm PST (00:58 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 6 km (4 mi) E, at 10:32 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fairview

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Fairview, CA, at 2:02 pm PDT on 29 August 2023 (21:02 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 21 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km NNE of Fairview, CA

18 km (11 mi) ESE of Oakland, CA · 11 km (7 mi) NNE of Hayward, CA

2:02 pm PDT, Aug 29, 2023 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alameda County 13 kmContra Costa County 24 kmSan Mateo County 44 kmSanta Clara County 62 kmSolano County 63 kmSan Joaquin County 72 kmMarin County 73 kmSanta Cruz County 78 kmSan Francisco County 88 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
2:02 pm PDT on 29 August 2023 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Fairview, CA · earthquakes near Fairview
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
21 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Alameda County, 13 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Hayward fault, 6 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 1168 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairview, 4 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: Castro Valley 5 km, intensity II · Hayward 6 km, intensity II · Dublin 9 km, intensity II · San Ramon 9 km, intensity II · San Lorenzo 9 km, intensity II · San Leandro 11 km, intensity II · Union City 13 km, intensity II · Danville 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 2,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 45 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 40 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 29 km E 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 37.7097, -122.0365. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA 13 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA 24 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
San Mateo County, CA 44 km (27 mi) SW earthquakes near San Mateo County
Santa Clara County, CA 62 km (39 mi) SSE earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Solano County, CA 63 km (39 mi) N earthquakes near Solano County
San Joaquin County, CA 72 km (45 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Joaquin 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. 3.7 2 km NNE of Millbrae, CA
  2. 1.6 5 km E of Vallejo, CA
  3. 1.8 2 km ENE of Berkeley, CA
  4. 2.5 2 km ENE of Berkeley, CA
  5. 2.1 2 km E of Pacheco, CA
  6. 1.6 6 km E of Fremont, CA
  7. 2.6 8 km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
  8. 2.1 1 km E of Pinole, CA
  9. 1.6 6 km ESE of Santa Venetia, CA
  10. 1.8 2 km NNE of Millbrae, CA
  11. 1.9 24 km ENE of Alum Rock, CA
  12. 1.6 3 km SW of San Ramon, CA
  13. 2.4 8 km E of Fremont, CA
  14. 2.0 1 km E of Pacheco, CA
  15. 2.0 2 km N of San Ramon, 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.