Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Lafayette, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lafayette in the 24 hours to 2:17 pm PST (22:17 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) NE, at 4:05 am PST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lafayette
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Lafayette, CA, at 1:57 am PDT on 26 August 2026 (08:57 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km WNW of Lafayette, CA
28 km (18 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA · 8 km (5 mi) WSW of Walnut Creek, CA
- When
- 1:57 am PDT on 26 August 2026 ()
- Where
- in Lafayette, CA · earthquakes near Lafayette
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 16 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hayward fault, 10 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 69 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lafayette, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lafayette, 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 4 km (2 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: Lafayette in town, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 23 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 5.8 660,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 23 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 6,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 40 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 32 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 50 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 40 km ESE 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 37.8883, -122.1282. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 16 km (10 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 33 km (20 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Solano County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Marin County, CA | 57 km (36 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Napa County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Napa 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.
- 1.4 6 km E of Santa Venetia, CA
- 1.4 3 km NNE of San Leandro, CA
- 2.4 6 km SE of Napa, CA
- 1.6 6 km SW of Clayton, CA
- 1.7 4 km NW of Orinda, CA
- 0.9 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.6 9 km NNE of Milpitas, CA
- 2.0 1 km NNW of East Richmond Heights, CA
- 1.2 2 km NE of Pacifica, CA
- 1.7 2 km SW of San Ramon, CA
- 1.6 3 km SW of San Ramon, CA
- 1.1 8 km SSE of Sunol, CA
- 2.4 1 km SSW of Novato, CA
- 1.2 8 km SSE of Sunol, CA
- 2.3 4 km WNW of Orinda, 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.