Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Clayton, CA
Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) SW of Clayton, CA, at 12:08 pm PDT on 5 October 2026 (19:08 UTC), 8.8 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
This was on 5 October 2026. The latest near Clayton: M 3.0 on 14 September 2026.
USGS: 6 km SW of Clayton, CA
5 km (3 mi) E of Walnut Creek, CA · 41 km (25 mi) ENE of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 12:08 pm PDT on 5 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) SW of Clayton, CA · earthquakes near Clayton
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 8.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 4 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Greenville fault, 7 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 8 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Clayton, 6 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: Clayton 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 46 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 20 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 45 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 29 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 20 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 37.8973, -121.9802. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 4 km (2 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 28 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Solano County, CA | 41 km (26 mi) | N | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Marin County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.