QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.5mw

5 km WNW of Patton Village, California

· 6.9 km deep · released about 79 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 55 kmSierra County 69 kmLassen County 71 kmWashoe County 79 kmStorey County 99 kmNevada County 107 kmCarson City 118 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 4.5 (mw)
Depth
6.9 km below the surface
Felt
940 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity V (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Plumas County, 55 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3009 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon. 940 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 79 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2,100× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.5 about 79 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 170× more

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.

Where

Epicentre 40.1538, -120.2132. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Plumas County, CA 55 km (34 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Plumas County
Sierra County, CA 69 km (43 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Sierra County
Lassen County, CA 71 km (44 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Lassen County
Washoe County, NV 79 km (49 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Washoe County
Storey County, NV 99 km (61 mi) NW of here earthquakes near Storey County
Nevada County, CA 107 km (66 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Nevada County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 17 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  2. 3.1 15 km ESE of Doyle, California
  3. 1.9 15 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  4. 2.4 6 km NNE of Greenhorn, California
  5. 2.5 3 km WNW of Patton Village, California
  6. 1.6 8 km N of Lake Davis, California
  7. 1.6 5 km W of Patton Village, California
  8. 1.7 17 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  9. 1.8 5 km ESE of Doyle, California
  10. 1.6 2 km NNE of Cromberg, California
  11. 1.8 8 km NNE of Lake Davis, California
  12. 2.7 5 km WNW of Patton Village, California
  13. 2.1 4 km NE of Lake Davis, California
  14. 1.6 35 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  15. 1.6 33 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.