quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Oroville, CA
USGS: 7 km S of Cherokee, California
30 km (19 mi) SE of Chico, CA · 113 km (70 mi) N of Sacramento, CA
- When
- 11:56 am PST on 8 February 2017 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) N of Oroville, CA · earthquakes near Oroville
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- -0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Butte County, 10 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Foothills fault system, 10 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3522 days ago
A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) N of Oroville, CA, at 11:56 am PST on 8 February 2017 (19:56 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Thermalito, Oroville East, South Oroville, Berry Creek, Palermo, Paradise.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
- 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 17 km S of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 17 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 39.5812, -121.5510. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 10 km (6 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Yuba County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Sutter County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sutter County |
| Glenn County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | W | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Nevada County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Colusa County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Colusa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 11km N of Oroville, CA
- 2.0 9km W of Lake Wildwood, CA
- 1.7 10km N of Thermalito, CA
- 1.6 2km WSW of Paradise, CA
- 1.8 2km SW of Paradise, CA
- 2.3 2km SW of Paradise, CA
- 1.8 4km NE of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
- 1.9 18km E of Willows, CA
- 3.0 19km W of Forest Ranch, CA
- 2.8 5km N of Chico, CA
- 1.6 11km SE of Willows, CA
- 1.9 10km N of Oroville, CA
- 1.9 6km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
- 1.9 17km ENE of Willows, CA
- 2.1 10km N of Thermalito, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.