On Sunday Afternoon a Shallow M4.0 Earthquake struck near Santa Rosa in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 14th, 2025. Last updated December 15th, 2025.

Under land 7 miles from Santa Rosa in The United States, a shallow Magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred in the afternoon of Sunday December 14th, 2025. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 7 miles (12 km) south-east of Santa Rosa in California. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 1 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 14, 2025 03:30PM (Los Angeles Time) - Dec 14, 2025 23:30 Universal Time.
Location:	7 mi SE of Santa Rosa, California, The United States. Coordinates 38°22'25"N 122°36'6"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.0 Detected by 148 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	1 mi (2 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 1 mi (2 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 8 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 8 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

Moderate shaking and very light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 2,390 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level II was experienced by the majority of people (around 7.2 million). In their region, very weak shaking and no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
5,925,000	I	Not noticable	None
7,208,000	II	Very weak	None
448,000	III	Weak	Probably none
28,490	IV	Light	Likely none
2,390	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Rohnert Park in California, The United States. Rohnert Park is located 6 miles (9 km) east-northeast of the epicenter. Rohnert Park experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Santa Rosa is located 7 mi to the northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). San Francisco is located 42 mi to the south-southeast and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). San Jose is located 81 mi to the south-southeast and experienced an intensity of I (not noticeable, no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
6 mi (9 km) WSW from epicenter	Rohnert Park California, The United States.	III Weak
7 mi (12 km) NW from epicenter	Santa Rosa California, The United States.	III Weak
10 mi (16 km) S from epicenter	Petaluma California, The United States.	III Weak
17 mi (27 km) NW from epicenter	Windsor California, The United States.	II Weak
18 mi (29 km) ESE from epicenter	Napa California, The United States.	III Weak
19 mi (30 km) S from epicenter	Novato California, The United States.	III Weak
23 mi (37 km) SE from epicenter	American Canyon California, The United States.	II Weak
27 mi (43 km) SE from epicenter	Vallejo California, The United States.	II Weak
28 mi (45 km) S from epicenter	San Rafael California, The United States.	II Weak
30 mi (48 km) SE from epicenter	Hercules California, The United States.	II Weak
30 mi (49 km) SSE from epicenter	Pinole California, The United States.	II Weak
32 mi (51 km) SSE from epicenter	San Pablo California, The United States.	II Weak
32 mi (51 km) ESE from epicenter	Fairfield California, The United States.	II Weak
32 mi (51 km) ESE from epicenter	Suisun California, The United States.	II Weak
33 mi (53 km) SE from epicenter	Benicia California, The United States.	II Weak
34 mi (54 km) E from epicenter	Vacaville California, The United States.	II Weak
34 mi (54 km) SSE from epicenter	Richmond California, The United States.	II Weak
35 mi (57 km) SSE from epicenter	El Cerrito California, The United States.	II Weak
35 mi (57 km) SE from epicenter	Martinez California, The United States.	II Weak
37 mi (60 km) SSE from epicenter	Albany California, The United States.	II Weak
39 mi (63 km) SSE from epicenter	Berkeley California, The United States.	II Weak
41 mi (66 km) SSE from epicenter	Chinatown California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (67 km) SE from epicenter	Concord California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (67 km) SE from epicenter	Pleasant Hill California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (68 km) SSE from epicenter	San Francisco California, The United States.	III Weak
43 mi (69 km) SE from epicenter	Lafayette California, The United States.	II Weak
43 mi (70 km) SSE from epicenter	Mission District California, The United States.	II Weak
43 mi (70 km) SE from epicenter	Walnut Creek California, The United States.	II Weak
43 mi (70 km) SSE from epicenter	Oakland California, The United States.	II Weak
45 mi (73 km) SSE from epicenter	Alameda California, The United States.	II Weak
46 mi (74 km) ESE from epicenter	Pittsburg California, The United States.	II Weak
47 mi (75 km) S from epicenter	Daly City California, The United States.	II Weak
48 mi (77 km) ENE from epicenter	Davis California, The United States.	II Weak
50 mi (80 km) ENE from epicenter	Woodland California, The United States.	II Weak
50 mi (81 km) ESE from epicenter	Antioch California, The United States.	II Weak
50 mi (81 km) SE from epicenter	Danville California, The United States.	II Weak
51 mi (82 km) SSE from epicenter	San Leandro California, The United States.	II Weak
51 mi (82 km) SSE from epicenter	South San Francisco California, The United States.	I Not felt
52 mi (84 km) SSE from epicenter	San Bruno California, The United States.	II Weak
53 mi (85 km) S from epicenter	Pacifica California, The United States.	II Weak
53 mi (86 km) SE from epicenter	San Ramon California, The United States.	II Weak
55 mi (88 km) SSE from epicenter	Castro Valley California, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (91 km) SSE from epicenter	Hayward California, The United States.	II Weak
58 mi (93 km) SSE from epicenter	San Mateo California, The United States.	II Weak
58 mi (93 km) ESE from epicenter	Brentwood California, The United States.	I Not felt
59 mi (95 km) SE from epicenter	Dublin California, The United States.	II Weak
60 mi (96 km) ENE from epicenter	West Sacramento California, The United States.	II Weak
62 mi (99 km) ENE from epicenter	Sacramento California, The United States.	I Not felt
62 mi (100 km) SSE from epicenter	Union City California, The United States.	I Not felt
66 mi (106 km) SSE from epicenter	Fremont California, The United States.	I Not felt
81 mi (131 km) SSE from epicenter	San Jose California, The United States.	I Not felt
170 mi (273 km) ENE from epicenter	Reno Nevada, The United States.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

4 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 4 smaller aftershocks. Just 34 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.4 was detected 0.4 mi (0.6 km) north-northwest of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 2 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 2.9 magnitude earthquake hit 1 day earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 2.7	1 day earlier Dec 13, 2025 09:30AM (Los Angeles Time)	1.7 mi (2.7 km) NNW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.9	1 day earlier Dec 13, 2025 01:44PM (Los Angeles Time)	56 mi (89 km) SE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.0	Dec 14, 2025 03:30PM (Los Angeles Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.1	8 mins later Dec 14, 2025 03:38PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.2 mi (0.4 km) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	34 mins later Dec 14, 2025 04:04PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.4 mi (0.6 km) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.6	3 hrs later Dec 14, 2025 06:01PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.8 mi (1.3 km) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	3 hrs later Dec 14, 2025 06:03PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.4 mi (0.7 km) SE from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since November 27th, 2025, when a 4 magnitude earthquake hit 123 mi (198 km) further south-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck on December 20th, 2022.

In total, 166 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 22 days.

Sources

Last updated 15/12/25 02:08 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.