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United States · California

M2.1 Earthquake near Pacifica, California (United States)

UTC time: 2026-09-20 00:16:09 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On September 20, 2026 at 00:16 UTC, a magnitude M2.1 earthquake occurred near Pacifica, California (United States). With a focal depth of about 7 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by USGS. United States: 187 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M5.3.

Details

ID
98329d51d9d38ff73694f3ec24d52cce830dea22
Magnitude
M2.1
Depth
6.6 km
UTC time
2026-09-20 00:16:09 UTC
Local time
—
Country
United States
State
California
City
Pacifica
County
San Mateo County
Source
usgs
Coordinates
37.62634, -122.47183
Temperature
14.6°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 6.6 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 6.6 km
Shallow
6.6 km
6.6 km — shallower than the regional average (15.2 km)
Regional average: 15.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Felt reports

1felt reports at EMSC / LastQuake

Voluntary reports of feeling this earthquake. The count is not an intensity measurement and is not added to USGS DYFI reports.

Data updated: Sep 20, 2026, 12:19 AM UTC · Last checked: Sep 20, 2026, 1:52 PM UTC

Source: EMSC / LastQuake

Volcanoes nearby

  • Clear Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 152 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 1'439 m ·United States
  • Mammoth Mountain
    Distance: 303 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 3'369 m ·Last eruption: 1260 ·United States
  • Mono-Inyo Craters
    Distance: 303 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 2'796 m ·Last eruption: 1380 ·United States
  • Mono Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 305 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 2'121 m ·Last eruption: 1790 ·United States
  • Lassen Volcanic Center
    Distance: 329 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'187 m ·Last eruption: 1917 ·United States
  • Soda Lakes
    Distance: 377 km ·Maar(s) ·Elevation: 1'251 m ·United States

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • San Francisco International AirportUnited States · SFO · KSFO
    8.6 kmStraight-line distance
  • San Carlos AirportUnited States · SQL · KSQL
    23.2 kmStraight-line distance
  • Oakland San Francisco Bay AirportUnited States · OAK · KOAK
    24.4 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-20

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

California

Context for this earthquake

20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 2,417 Catalogue entries

Of 2,416 other entries for this area and period, 1,800 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · United States

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Country statistics · United States

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