Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Portola Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Portola Valley in the 24 hours to 5:09 pm PST (01:09 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 6 km (4 mi) N, at 4:14 pm PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Portola Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Portola Valley, CA, at 2:30 am PDT on 18 August 2026 (09:30 UTC), 4.6 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km NNE of Portola Valley, CA
7 km (4 mi) WNW of Palo Alto, CA · 38 km (24 mi) WNW of San Jose, CA
- When
- 2:30 am PDT on 18 August 2026 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Portola Valley, CA · earthquakes near Portola Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 4.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Mateo County, 13 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 75 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Portola Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Portola Valley, 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 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Portola Valley, 3 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: Menlo Park 6 km, intensity II · Palo Alto 8 km, intensity II · Redwood City 8 km, intensity II · East Palo Alto 10 km, intensity II · Los Altos 10 km, intensity II · San Carlos 11 km, intensity II · Mountain View 12 km, intensity II · Belmont 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 5.1 on 2022-10-25 — about 55,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 48 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 44 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 7 km NNW of Boulder Creek, California · 25 km SSE 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 37.4100, -122.2205. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County, CA | 13 km (8 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Alameda County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 1 km NE of Woodside, CA
- 2.3 4 km SSW of Lexington Hills, CA
- 0.9 14 km SSE of Livermore, CA
- 1.8 19 km WNW of Boulder Creek, CA
- 1.7 2 km SSE of Los Altos Hills, CA
- 1.6 9 km NNE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.1 8 km SW of Loyola, CA
- 2.4 9 km E of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.0 4 km WSW of Cupertino, CA
- 1.1 5 km WSW of Cupertino, CA
- 1.2 2 km NE of Pacifica, CA
- 1.3 11 km SW of Loyola, CA
- 1.7 2 km SW of San Ramon, CA
- 1.3 11 km SSE of Portola Valley, CA
- 2.1 12 km NNE of Alum Rock, 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.