QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Greenville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Greenville in the 24 hours to 3:42 am PST (11:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 18 km (11 mi) SSE, at 5:11 am PST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Greenville

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) west-northwest of Greenville, CA, at 5:21 am PDT on 13 March 2018 (12:21 UTC), 3.8 km deep.

USGS: 2km NE of Canyondam, CA

5:21 am PDT, Mar 13, 2018 · · 3.8 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 29 kmLassen County 69 kmButte County 74 kmSierra County 82 kmTehama County 100 kmNevada County 102 kmYuba County 105 kmShasta County 105 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
5:21 am PDT on 13 March 2018 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) west-northwest of Greenville, CA · earthquakes near Greenville
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
3.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Plumas County, 29 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Almanor fault, 2 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 3166 days ago

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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Greenville, 10 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: Greenville 10 km, intensity II · Westwood 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 1 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 45 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 40.1870, -121.0563. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 29 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Plumas County
Lassen County, CA 69 km (43 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lassen County
Butte County, CA 74 km (46 mi) SW earthquakes near Butte County
Sierra County, CA 82 km (51 mi) SE earthquakes near Sierra County
Tehama County, CA 100 km (62 mi) W earthquakes near Tehama County
Nevada County, CA 102 km (63 mi) SSE 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. 2.0 10km WSW of Susanville, CA
  2. 1.7 14km WSW of Susanville, CA
  3. 2.0 9km SW of Susanville, CA
  4. 2.5 10km WSW of Susanville, CA
  5. 1.6 15km S of Mineral, CA
  6. 1.5 2km NW of Almanor, CA
  7. 1.7 4km NNW of Canyondam, CA
  8. 1.7 7km WSW of Almanor, CA
  9. 1.6 2km ESE of Prattville, CA
  10. 2.0 4km E of Prattville, CA
  11. 1.6 7km SSE of Mineral, CA
  12. 1.5 7km SSE of Mineral, CA
  13. 1.6 4km SE of Canyondam, CA
  14. 2.9 8km S of Mineral, CA
  15. 1.6 20km S of Mineral, 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

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