Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Willits, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Willits in the 24 hours to 5:58 pm PST (01:58 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 9 km (5 mi) ESE, at 10:30 pm PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Willits
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) east-northeast of Willits, CA, at 8:38 pm PDT on 31 August 2016 (03:38 UTC), 1.9 km deep.
USGS: 29 km NE of Potter Valley, California
- When
- 8:38 pm PDT on 31 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) east-northeast of Willits, CA · earthquakes near Willits
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 1.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Glenn County, 43 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 9 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 3561 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Willits, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Willits, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Willits, 42 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.1 on 2016-08-10 — about 190,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 49 km SSW 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 39.5297, -122.8918. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | E | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Lake County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Colusa County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Tehama County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Butte County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | E | earthquakes near Butte County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 5 km E of Covelo, California
- 1.5 20 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.8 17 km NE of Willits, California
- 1.7 7 km NNE of Brooktrails, California
- 1.5 18 km NE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.6 19 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.5 20 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.6 21 km E of Potter Valley, California
- 2.0 8 km SSE of Laytonville, California
- 1.7 18 km NE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.6 18 km NE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.8 18 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
- 1.8 17 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
- 2.2 20 km E of Potter Valley, California
- 2.1 20 km NNE of Upper Lake, 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.