March 22, 1957 Earthquake: San Mateo County, California, United States
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck San Mateo County, California, United States on March 22, 1957 at 19:44:22 UTC, 15 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- March 22, 1957
- Time
- 19:44:22 UTC
- Place
- San Mateo County, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.557° N, 122.724° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Injuries
- 40
- Damage
- $1 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1957. Mar. 22 and 23. West of Daly City, San Mateo County, Calif. These earthquakes caused property damage estimated at $1 million and injured about 40 people. The first and strongest shock caused one death. Minor damage at several houses was reported along the ocean in the Westlake-Palisades tract, west of Daly City. Many chimneys were damaged at Daly City. In San Francisco, damage to chimneys, plaster, windows, and merchandise was widespread. The pavement along the edge of Lake Merced sloughed off into the lake, and both ends of a pedestrian bridge collapsed. Landslides blocked State Highway 1 near Mussel Rock, and the shoulder of the highway was cracked extensively. The main shock was felt over a moderate area of west-central California, and many aftershocks were observed. The shock on Mar. 23 caused slight damage at Menlo Park and San Francisco. Magnitude 5.3 Ms CFR, 5.27 ML KJ (both Mar. 22). (reference #542)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 18, 1906, San Francisco, California, United States
- October 18, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, United States
- October 21, 1868, Hayward,san Francisco, California, United States
- August 24, 2014, Napa, Vallejo, California, United States
- October 2, 1969, Santa Rosa, California, United States
- June 1838, San Francisco,san Jose,santa Clara, California, United States
- February 10, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
- February 13, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
- September 24, 1859, Half Moon Bay, California, United States
- February 15, 1856, Northern, California, United States
- May 15, 1851, Northern, California, United States
- October 22, 1854, Northern, California, United States
- October 22, 1855, San Francisco, California, United States
- July 20, 2007, Montclair, California, United States
- November 26, 1858, San Jose,san Francisco, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1957The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1957Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 10681.