© USGSThis map shows the location of Thursday's earthquakes near Berkeley, Calif. (indicated by blue squares) occuring along the Hayward fault zone (red line running underneath).
The first quake, with a magnitude of 4.0 according to the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at 2:41 p.m. local time about 2 miles southeast of Berkeley.
A 3.8 magnitude aftershock centered a mile east of Berkeley followed more than 5 hours later at 8:16 p.m.
USGS officials estimate that more than 4 million residents of the Bay Area felt the quakes, with the worst shaking impacting the East Bay region.
Berkeley and Oakland police both reported no damage, though many in the area took to social media indicating their dishes were rattled.
Bay Area Rapid Transit trains were delayed about 15 minutes after each quake while workers examined the integrity of the system. No damage was found.
The quakes occurred along the Hayward Fault, situated along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay.
Since the tremors were centered along an active fault line, USGS officials warn that there could be additional aftershocks in the days and months to come.
The earthquakes come almost 22 years to the day after the Loma Prieta quake jolted the Bay Area on Oct. 17, 1989.
That infamous magnitude-6.9 earthquake interrupted Game 3 of the World Series and killed 63 people while causing $11 billion in damage.
Earthquakes were not confined to California on Thursday. A rare 4.8-magnitude quake shook less than 50 miles from San Antonio, Texas, in the morning.
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