Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Colma, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Colma in the 24 hours to 8:34 pm PST (04:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 6 km (4 mi) S, at 5:17 pm PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 526 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Colma
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Colma, CA, at 1:05 pm PDT on 16 August 2024 (20:05 UTC), 9.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km W of Colma, CA
15 km (10 mi) SW of San Francisco, CA · 6 km (4 mi) SW of Daly City, CA
- When
- 1:05 pm PDT on 16 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Colma, CA · earthquakes near Colma
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 9.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- San Mateo County, 31 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 811 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Colma, 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Colma, 5 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Broadmoor, Pacifica, Daly City, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Brisbane.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 2018-01-04 — about 14,000 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 · 10 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 3 km E 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 37.6660, -122.5197. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Marin County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Alameda County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | E | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 57 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Solano County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Daly City, CA
- 2.1 2 km NW of Castro Valley, CA
- 2.8 2 km NW of Castro Valley, CA
- 1.6 5 km E of El Granada, CA
- 2.7 1 km SSW of Alamo, CA
- 1.6 5 km ESE of Fairview, CA
- 2.1 2 km SSW of San Ramon, CA
- 1.8 3 km W of Portola Valley, CA
- 1.5 2 km E of Hayward, CA
- 2.3 1 km WSW of Kensington, CA
- 1.7 1 km NNW of Hillsborough, CA
- 1.7 2 km NNE of Danville, CA
- 1.6 3 km ESE of Hayward, CA
- 1.6 3 km SE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.9 3 km ESE of Berkeley, 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.