Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near San Francisco, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Francisco in the 24 hours to 6:58 pm PST (02:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 6:23 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 114 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Francisco
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west of San Francisco, CA, at 8:30 am PST on 6 January 2024 (16:30 UTC), 9.2 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
13 km (8 mi) W of San Francisco, CA · 11 km (7 mi) NW of Daly City, CA
- When
- 8:30 am PST on 6 January 2024 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) west of San Francisco, CA · earthquakes near San Francisco
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 9.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Marin County, 36 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, under 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 1038 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Francisco, 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In San Francisco, 13 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: Daly City 11 km, intensity II · San Francisco 13 km, intensity II · Tamalpais-Homestead Valley 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 41 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 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 3,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 2 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 13 km SE 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 37.7622, -122.5665. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marin County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 41 km (26 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Solano County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 4 km WSW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 2.1 8 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.7 1 km NNW of Orinda, CA
- 1.8 1 km NNW of Orinda, CA
- 1.7 7 km SSW of Muir Beach, CA
- 2.1 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 2.2 7 km SSW of Muir Beach, CA
- 1.9 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 3.2 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.5 7 km E of Santa Venetia, CA
- 1.7 1 km W of Pacheco, CA
- 1.5 7 km E of Santa Venetia, CA
- 1.6 4 km WSW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 2.0 8 km S of Muir Beach, CA
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Santa Venetia, 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.