Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.4md
Earthquake near El Sobrante, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in El Sobrante in the 24 hours to 1:35 am PST (09:35 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 13 km (8 mi) SSE, at 6:23 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 114 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near El Sobrante
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east of El Sobrante, CA, at 8:10 am PDT on 12 August 2024 (15:10 UTC), 4.7 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 4 km ESE of El Sobrante, CA
26 km (16 mi) NE of San Francisco, CA · 10 km (6 mi) ENE of Richmond, CA
- When
- 8:10 am PDT on 12 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) east of El Sobrante, CA · earthquakes near El Sobrante
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 27 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hayward fault, 11 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 815 days ago
Earthquake alerts for El Sobrante, 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In El Sobrante, 4 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: Pinole 5 km, intensity III · Hercules 6 km, intensity III · San Pablo 8 km, intensity II · El Cerrito 9 km, intensity II · Crockett 9 km, intensity II · Richmond 10 km, intensity II · Martinez 11 km, intensity II · Benicia 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 130 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 80,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 1,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 27 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 47 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 40 km SSW 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 37.9763, -122.2508. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 27 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Solano County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Solano County |
| Marin County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | W | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Alameda County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Napa County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | N | earthquakes near Napa County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 2 km S of Brentwood, CA
- 1.8 6 km E of Vallejo, CA
- 1.5 5 km SSE of Clayton, CA
- 2.4 3 km W of San Francisco Zoo, 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
- 1.9 5 km WSW of Yountville, CA
- 1.5 2 km SW of Blackhawk, 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.