Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Chico, CA
USGS: 5 km N of Princeton, California
37 km (23 mi) SSW of Chico, CA · 109 km (68 mi) NNW of Sacramento, CA
- When
- 3:59 am PST on 30 November 2016 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) SSW of Chico, CA · earthquakes near Chico
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Colusa County, 37 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 24 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 3521 days ago
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) SSW of Chico, CA, at 3:59 am PST on 30 November 2016 (11:59 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Willows, Maxwell, Biggs, Colusa, Durham, Gridley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 45 km E of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 45 km E 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 39.4548, -122.0058. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colusa County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Glenn County, CA | 38 km (23 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Butte County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Sutter County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Sutter County |
| Yuba County, CA | 60 km (38 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Lake County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Lake County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 2km SW of Paradise, CA
- 2.3 2km SW of Paradise, CA
- 1.9 18km E of Willows, 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
- 2.0 19km WSW of Williams, CA
- 1.8 12km S of Hamilton City, CA
- 1.7 17km ENE of Willows, CA
- 1.9 16km S of Hamilton City, CA
- 2.3 16km S of Hamilton City, CA
- 1.6 12km SSE of Willows, 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.