QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Santa Rosa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Santa Rosa in the 24 hours to 1:02 pm PST (21:02 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 5 km (3 mi) NE, at 2:01 pm PDT on 23 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Santa Rosa

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Santa Rosa, CA, at 6:03 am PST on 21 January 2026 (14:03 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 41 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km ESE of Santa Rosa, CA

7 km (4 mi) ESE of Santa Rosa, CA

6:03 am PST, Jan 21, 2026 · · -0.0 km deep · released about 94 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Santa Rosa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sonoma County 28 kmNapa County 29 kmMarin County 42 kmSolano County 63 kmYolo County 70 kmLake County 77 kmContra Costa County 82 kmSan Francisco County 84 kmColusa County 91 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
6:03 am PST on 21 January 2026 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Santa Rosa, CA · earthquakes near Santa Rosa
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
-0.0 km below the surface
Felt
41 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Sonoma County, 28 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Bennett Valley fault, under 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 284 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Santa Rosa, 7 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: Santa Rosa 7 km, intensity III · Kenwood 8 km, intensity II · Rohnert Park 10 km, intensity II · Agua Caliente 17 km, intensity II · Calistoga 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 94 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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 5.0 on 2016-12-14 — about 10,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 19 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 Northern California · 19 km WSW 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 38.4185, -122.6402. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sonoma County, CA 28 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sonoma County
Napa County, CA 29 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Napa County
Marin County, CA 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Marin County
Solano County, CA 63 km (39 mi) ESE earthquakes near Solano County
Yolo County, CA 70 km (44 mi) ENE earthquakes near Yolo County
Lake County, CA 77 km (48 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km NE of Santa Rosa, CA
  2. 1.8 5 km WNW of The Geysers, CA
  3. 1.6 4 km ENE of Saint Helena, CA
  4. 1.8 6 km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  5. 2.9 9 km WNW of Cobb, CA
  6. 3.7 8 km WNW of Cobb, CA
  7. 2.0 8 km WNW of Cobb, CA
  8. 2.2 4 km W of Cobb, CA
  9. 1.8 2 km NW of The Geysers, CA
  10. 2.0 3 km NW of The Geysers, CA
  11. 2.4 8 km NW of The Geysers, CA
  12. 2.6 12 km SE of Middletown, CA
  13. 2.2 7 km WNW of Cobb, CA
  14. 1.5 3 km NW of The Geysers, CA
  15. 1.7 4 km W of Cobb, 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.