QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Yountville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yountville in the 24 hours to 11:06 pm PST (07:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 19 km (12 mi) SSE, at 10:47 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Yountville

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) east of Yountville, CA, at 12:04 pm PDT on 17 September 2023 (19:04 UTC), 5.8 km deep.

USGS: 11 km E of Yountville, CA

13 km (8 mi) NNE of Napa, CA · 71 km (44 mi) NNE of San Francisco, CA

12:04 pm PDT, Sep 17, 2023 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Napa County 14 kmSolano County 30 kmYolo County 42 kmMarin County 59 kmContra Costa County 60 kmSonoma County 62 kmSacramento County 78 kmSutter County 84 kmColusa County 86 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
12:04 pm PDT on 17 September 2023 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) east of Yountville, CA · earthquakes near Yountville
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Napa County, 14 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Green Valley fault, 2 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 1141 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Yountville, 11 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: Napa 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 17 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 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 4.4 on 2022-09-14 — about 6,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 22 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 32 km ESE 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 38.4058, -122.2362. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Napa County, CA 14 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Napa County
Solano County, CA 30 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Solano County
Yolo County, CA 42 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Yolo County
Marin County, CA 59 km (37 mi) SW earthquakes near Marin County
Contra Costa County, CA 60 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Sonoma County, CA 62 km (38 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sonoma County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 5 km E of Vallejo, CA
  2. 2.1 2 km E of Pacheco, CA
  3. 1.9 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  4. 2.1 1 km E of Pinole, CA
  5. 1.5 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  6. 1.9 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  7. 1.6 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  8. 1.5 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  9. 2.0 1 km E of Pacheco, CA
  10. 2.1 13 km SE of Middletown, CA
  11. 2.7 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  12. 1.8 1 km SSE of Pacheco, CA
  13. 2.0 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  14. 2.8 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  15. 1.5 12 km SE of Middletown, 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.