Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near San Francisco, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Francisco in the 24 hours to 5:55 pm PST (01:55 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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) west-southwest of San Francisco, CA, at 1:32 pm PST on 2 February 2024 (21:32 UTC), 9.4 km deep. 2,870 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km WSW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
14 km (9 mi) WSW of San Francisco, CA · 8 km (5 mi) W of Daly City, CA
- When
- 1:32 pm PST on 2 February 2024 ()
- Where
- 14 km (8 mi) west-southwest of San Francisco, CA · earthquakes near San Francisco
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2,870 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Mateo County, 37 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 282 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 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In San Francisco, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 8 km, intensity III · Pacifica 12 km, intensity III · San Francisco 14 km, intensity III · South San Francisco 14 km, intensity III · Bayview-Hunters Point 15 km, intensity III · San Bruno 15 km, intensity III · Tamalpais-Homestead Valley 18 km, intensity III · Millbrae 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 2,000 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× more
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 2018-01-04 — about 57 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 · 4 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 8 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 37.7132, -122.5522. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Marin County, CA | 41 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Alameda County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | E | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Solano County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 2 km E of Berkeley, CA
- 1.7 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 2.2 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 2.5 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 1.7 4 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 2.3 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 1.9 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 1.8 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 2.6 3 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 1.5 4 km NNW of Pacifica, CA
- 1.8 7 km ESE of Santa Venetia, CA
- 1.5 2 km SW of Alamo, CA
- 2.2 4 km N of San Leandro, CA
- 2.1 3 km NE of San Leandro, CA
- 2.0 3 km N of San Leandro, 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.