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, 50 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Foster City, the biggest of them M2.9. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Foster City came at 2.1× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Foster City — records go back to 1980 — was the M6.9 of Oct 18, 1989, 00:04 UTC: The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake.
How we figure this: 34 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 16.2 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 Foster City, 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 Foster City are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Foster City
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.2 | 2 km WSW of Danville, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 02:42 AM | 7 km | 36 km NE |
| M2.3 | 27 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 01:09 AM | 2 km | 73 km ESE |
| M1.9 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 05:26 PM | 3 km | 74 km ESE |
| M1.9 | 5 km SW of Dublin, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 10:32 AM | 10 km | 29 km ENE |
| M1.1 | 5 km WNW of San Francisco Zoo, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 06:33 AM | 12 km | 33 km NW |
| M1.4 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 04:07 AM | 5 km | 74 km ESE |
| M2.5 | 2 km WNW of Concord, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 01:23 AM | 15 km | 51 km NNE |
| M2.2 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:44 AM | 3 km | 74 km ESE |
| M1.2 | 26 km WSW of Westley, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:41 AM | 5 km | 74 km ESE |
| M1.0 | 10 km ESE of Gilroy, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 11:58 PM | 4 km | 97 km SE |
Earthquakes per year near Foster City (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 Foster City
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 847 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Foster City (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M6.9 | The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake | Oct 18, 1989, 00:04 UTC | 68 km |
| M6.2 | The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake | Apr 24, 1984, 21:15 UTC | 59 km |
| M6.0 | The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake | Aug 24, 2014, 10:20 UTC | 73 km |
| M5.8 | The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake | Jan 24, 1980, 19:00 UTC | 54 km |
| M5.7 | 15 km NE of East Foothills, California | Mar 31, 1986, 11:55 UTC | 52 km |
| M5.5 | 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California | Oct 31, 2007, 03:04 UTC | 46 km |
| M5.4 | 5 km NNW of Aromas, California | Apr 18, 1990, 13:53 UTC | 88 km |
| M5.4 | 4 km ESE of Lexington Hills, California | Aug 08, 1989, 08:13 UTC | 55 km |
Nearby places
Redwood Shores, CA (4 km) · Belmont, CA (4 km) · San Mateo, CA (5 km) · San Jose, CA (41 km) · San Francisco, CA (27 km) · Oakland, CA (27 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 17:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 17:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; 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.