The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 97 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of San Rafael, the biggest of them M2.8. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near San Rafael came at 2.1× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near San Rafael — records go back to 1980 — was the M6.0 of Aug 24, 2014, 10:20 UTC: The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake.
How we figure this: 49 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 04, 2025 – Nov 04, 2026), compared with an average of 23.6 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around San Rafael, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near San Rafael are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near San Rafael
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.7 | 12 km E of Suisun City, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 06:23 PM | 22 km | 63 km ENE |
| M0.8 | 6 km WNW of Cobb, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 06:01 PM | 2 km | 98 km NNW |
| M0.8 | 4 km NW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 03:10 PM | 5 km | 96 km NNW |
| M0.8 | 3 km NNW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 12:15 PM | 4 km | 94 km NNW |
| M1.3 | 8 km NW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 11:49 AM | 2 km | 98 km NNW |
| M1.1 | 5 km NNW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 10:12 AM | 0 km | 96 km NNW |
| M1.0 | 7 km NW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 09:29 AM | 3 km | 97 km NNW |
| M0.4 | 8 km W of Cobb, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 09:03 AM | 2 km | 99 km NNW |
| M0.7 | 10 km NW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 05:53 AM | 2 km | 99 km NNW |
| M0.4 | 8 km NW of The Geysers, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 04:24 AM | 2 km | 98 km NNW |
Earthquakes per year near San Rafael (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near San Rafael
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 1712 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near San Rafael (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M6.0 | The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake | Aug 24, 2014, 10:20 UTC | 33 km |
| M5.8 | The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake | Jan 24, 1980, 19:00 UTC | 69 km |
| M5.7 | 15 km NE of East Foothills, California | Mar 31, 1986, 11:55 UTC | 92 km |
| M5.5 | 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California | Oct 31, 2007, 03:04 UTC | 90 km |
| M5.4 | 9 km NE of Livermore, California | Jan 27, 1980, 02:33 UTC | 77 km |
| M5.3 | 6 km E of East Foothills, California | Jun 13, 1988, 01:45 UTC | 95 km |
| M5.1 | 7 km SW of Monte Sereno, California | Oct 18, 1989, 00:41 UTC | 97 km |
| M5.1 | 11 km E of Blackhawk, California | Jan 24, 1980, 19:01 UTC | 69 km |
Nearby places
Tamalpais Valley, CA (11 km) · Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, CA (11 km) · Woodacre, CA (11 km) · San Francisco, CA (24 km) · Oakland, CA (30 km) · Concord, CA (44 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 04, 2026, 02:45 UTC · page built Nov 04, 2026, 02:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km, measured from the center of the place, not the city limits; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.