Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Middletown, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Middletown in the 24 hours to 3:32 am PST (11:32 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) WNW, at 5:12 am PST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Middletown
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded in Middletown, CA, at 12:38 pm PDT on 12 May 2026 (19:38 UTC), 4.8 km deep. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km NNE of Middletown, CA
37 km (23 mi) NNE of Santa Rosa, CA · 111 km (69 mi) N of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 12:38 pm PDT on 12 May 2026 ()
- Where
- in Middletown, CA · earthquakes near Middletown
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 4.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Napa County, 38 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Konocti Bay fault, 9 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 117 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Middletown, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Middletown, CA. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Cobb 12 km, intensity III · Clearlake 21 km, intensity II · Calistoga 21 km, intensity II · Angwin 26 km, intensity II · Healdsburg 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 570 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 27,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 1,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 38.7695, -122.6080. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Napa County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| Lake County, CA | 39 km (25 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Colusa County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Yolo County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | E | earthquakes near Yolo County |
| Solano County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Solano 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.
- 1.8 2 km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 9 km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 9 km ESE of Cloverdale, CA
- 2.0 1 km ESE of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 9 km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 2 km N of The Geysers, CA
- 2.2 2 km N of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 6 km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.5 8 km W of Cobb, CA
- 1.6 2 km N of The Geysers, CA
- 1.8 7 km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.9 7 km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 2.5 10 km WNW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.6 6 km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 2.1 6 km NW of The Geysers, 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.