Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Novato, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Novato in the 24 hours to 12:23 am PST (08:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 20 km (12 mi) NW, at 3:02 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Novato
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded in Novato, CA, at 6:21 pm PDT on 26 September 2026 (01:21 UTC), 8.0 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 1 km SSW of Novato, CA
in Novato, CA · 38 km (24 mi) NNW of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 6:21 pm PDT on 26 September 2026 ()
- Where
- in Novato, CA · earthquakes near Novato
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 8.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Marin County, 16 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Rodgers Creek fault, 14 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 46 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Novato, CA
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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 20 km (12 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: Novato in town, intensity III · Black Point-Green Point 6 km, intensity II · San Rafael 14 km, intensity II · Petaluma 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 1,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 39 km S of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 26 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 48 km S of this epicentre
- 5.3 3 km E of Bloomfield, California · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 Northern California · 33 km NW 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 38.0967, -122.5747. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marin County, CA | 16 km (10 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Napa County, CA | 51 km (31 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 57 km (36 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Solano County, CA | 59 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Solano County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
35 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.4 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.6 6 km E of Santa Venetia, CA
- 1.1 1 km SW of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 2.1 1 km SSW of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 1.4 0 km ENE of American Canyon, CA
- 1.3 5 km NNW of Pacifica, CA
- 1.8 1 km WNW of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 1.8 6 km ENE of Vallejo, CA
- 1.1 5 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 2.5 2 km WNW of Concord, CA
- 1.6 3 km E of Berkeley, CA
- 2.6 3 km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 2.1 3 km W of Concord, CA
- 1.5 3 km WSW of Daly City, CA
- 2.0 7 km ENE of Vallejo, 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.