Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.1mw
Earthquake near Laytonville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Laytonville in the 24 hours to 4:07 pm PST (00:07 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) WSW, at 7:25 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Laytonville
This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Laytonville, CA, at 5:00 am PST on 6 November 2016 (13:00 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 88 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km WSW of Laytonville, California
- When
- 5:00 am PST on 6 November 2016 ()
- Where
- 14 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Laytonville, CA · earthquakes near Laytonville
- Magnitude
- M 4.1 (mw)
- Depth
- -0.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 88 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 30 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Maacama fault, 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 3526 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Laytonville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Laytonville, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 102 km (63 mi) from the epicentre. In Laytonville, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Laytonville 14 km, intensity IV · Fort Bragg 28 km, intensity III · Brooktrails 32 km, intensity III · Covelo 36 km, intensity III · Willits 37 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 9,100× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.1 about 19 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 39× 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.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 16 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km ESE of Shelter Cove, California · 49 km NW 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 39.6598, -123.6373. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 30 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Lake County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Glenn County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | E | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Trinity County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Colusa County, CA | 132 km (82 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Colusa 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.
- 1.7 12 km N of Brooktrails, California
- 2.0 6 km ENE of Brooktrails, California
- 1.8 21 km ENE of Leggett, California
- 2.1 7 km ESE of Willits, California
- 1.8 8 km WSW of Covelo, California
- 1.5 5 km NNW of Laytonville, California
- 1.8 10 km WSW of Covelo, California
- 1.7 26 km SE of Alderpoint, California
- 1.7 26 km SE of Alderpoint, California
- 2.1 26 km SE of Alderpoint, California
- 1.8 26 km NNW of Covelo, California
- 2.2 26 km SE of Alderpoint, California
- 2.3 13 km SSE of Laytonville, California
- 1.7 9 km N of Redwood Valley, California
- 2.0 12 km NNE of Laytonville, 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.