quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Chico, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Chico in the 24 hours to 5:04 pm PST (01:04 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 120 km (75 mi) W, at 6:14 pm PDT on 10 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 66 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Chico
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.6 quarry blast was recorded 27 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Chico, CA, at 12:55 pm PDT on 15 March 2016 (19:55 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km SSW of Cherokee, California
27 km (17 mi) SE of Chico, CA · 117 km (73 mi) N of Sacramento, CA
- When
- 12:55 pm PDT on 15 March 2016 ()
- Where
- 27 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Chico, CA · earthquakes near Chico
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- -0.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Butte County, 7 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Foothills fault system, 13 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 1563 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Chico, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Chico, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Chico, 27 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Paradise 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 20 km S of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 21 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 20 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 39.6143, -121.5650. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 7 km (4 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Yuba County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Sutter County, CA | 65 km (41 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sutter County |
| Glenn County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | W | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Colusa County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Plumas County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Plumas 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.
- 2.0 10km N of Thermalito, CA
- 1.9 2 km SSE of South Oroville, California
- 2.1 11 km WSW of Biggs, California
- 1.8 8 km N of Princeton, California
- 1.9 9 km NNW of Thermalito, California
- 1.9 Northern California
- 2.1 6 km SW of Cherokee, California
- 2.2 5 km W of Hamilton City, California
- 2.4 3 km SSE of Butte Meadows, California
- 2.0 Northern California
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Bucks Lake, California
- 1.7 13 km W of La Porte, California
- 1.8 4 km NW of Dobbins, California
- 2.1 5 km SW of Cherokee, California
- 1.7 10 km S of Hamilton City, California
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.