The Bay Area was jolted Saturday morning when a minor earthquake struck about 10 miles from San Francisco.

The earthquake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 3.5 , hit at 8:41 a.m. local time. It originated about five miles deep in the earth, and occurred about three and a half miles southwest of Colma, Calif., according to the United States Geological Survey.

“It might jiggle things on their shelves and things like that, but it usually doesn’t cause any damage,” John Bellini, a U.S.G.S. geophysicist, said.

Testimony poured in on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center website. One person called the earthquake “short but strong.”