QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Vallejo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Vallejo in the 24 hours to 4:38 am PST (12:38 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) ENE, at 11:09 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vallejo

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.0 quarry blast was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Vallejo, CA, at 11:05 am PDT on 29 August 2024 (18:05 UTC), 3.3 km deep. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km E of Vallejo, CA

9 km (6 mi) ENE of Vallejo, CA · 45 km (28 mi) NNE of San Francisco, CA

11:05 am PDT, Aug 29, 2024 · · 3.3 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Solano County 25 kmContra Costa County 29 kmNapa County 45 kmMarin County 52 kmAlameda County 58 kmYolo County 65 kmSacramento County 80 kmSonoma County 80 kmSan Joaquin County 81 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:05 am PDT on 29 August 2024 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Vallejo, CA · earthquakes near Vallejo
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
3.3 km below the surface
Felt
11 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Solano County, 25 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Green Valley fault, 3 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 797 days ago

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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Vallejo, 9 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: Benicia 9 km, intensity II · Vallejo 9 km, intensity II · Crockett 10 km, intensity II · Martinez 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 16 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 47 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 30 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 49 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 38.1278, -122.1600. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Solano County, CA 25 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Solano County
Contra Costa County, CA 29 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Contra Costa County
Napa County, CA 45 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Napa County
Marin County, CA 52 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Marin County
Alameda County, CA 58 km (36 mi) SSE earthquakes near Alameda County
Yolo County, CA 65 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yolo County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 5 km E of Green Valley, CA
  2. 2.7 1 km SSW of Alamo, CA
  3. 2.1 2 km SSW of San Ramon, CA
  4. 2.3 1 km WSW of Kensington, CA
  5. 1.7 2 km NNE of Danville, CA
  6. 1.6 3 km SE of Berkeley, CA
  7. 1.9 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
  8. 1.7 2 km S of Brentwood, CA
  9. 1.8 6 km E of Vallejo, CA
  10. 1.5 7 km S of St. Helena, CA
  11. 1.5 5 km SSE of Clayton, CA
  12. 1.9 4 km ESE of St. Helena, CA
  13. 1.8 14 km NNE of Yountville, CA
  14. 1.9 14 km SE of Angwin, CA
  15. 1.7 3 km SE 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.