Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near San Mateo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Mateo in the 24 hours to 11:11 pm PST (07:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 14 km (9 mi) WNW, at 5:17 pm PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 526 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Mateo
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north of San Mateo, CA, at 2:56 pm PDT on 8 August 2024 (21:56 UTC), 9.1 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km NNE of San Mateo, CA
22 km (13 mi) SSE of San Francisco, CA · in San Mateo, CA
- When
- 2:56 pm PDT on 8 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) north of San Mateo, CA · earthquakes near San Mateo
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 9.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports
- Nearest
- San Mateo County, 21 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Serra 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 224 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Mateo, 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In San Mateo, 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: San Mateo 4 km, intensity II · Burlingame 5 km, intensity II · Millbrae 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 26 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 7 km NNW of Boulder Creek, California · 48 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 16 km WNW 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 37.6025, -122.3185. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County, CA | 21 km (13 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | E | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Marin County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 70 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 5 km SSE of Clayton, CA
- 2.4 3 km W of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.8 14 km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.6 4 km WSW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.7 3 km SE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.5 2 km E of Hayward, CA
- 1.6 2 km E of San Ramon, CA
- 1.5 2 km WSW of Concord, CA
- 1.5 7 km NW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.6 4 km WSW of Hillsborough, CA
- 1.9 5 km SW of Clayton, CA
- 1.8 2 km ENE of Oakland, CA
- 1.6 6 km SSW of Loyola, CA
- 1.5 2 km SW of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.9 1 km WNW of Kensington, 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.