QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Janesville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Janesville in the 24 hours to 7:00 am PST (15:00 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 9 km (6 mi) E, at 8:04 pm PDT on 4 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Janesville

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Janesville, CA, at 5:49 pm PDT on 8 September 2019 (00:49 UTC), 3.8 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km ESE of Janesville, CA

98 km (61 mi) NNW of Reno, NV

5:49 pm PDT, Sep 8, 2019 · · 3.8 km deep · released about 100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 43 kmLassen County 49 kmSierra County 78 kmWashoe County 86 kmNevada County 112 kmButte County 117 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
5:49 pm PDT on 8 September 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Janesville, CA · earthquakes near Janesville
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
3.8 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Plumas County, 43 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Honey Lake fault, under 1 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 2621 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Janesville, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Johnstonville, Susanville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 100 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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 1,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 42 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 46 km SE 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 40.2822, -120.4913. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 43 km (27 mi) SW earthquakes near Plumas County
Lassen County, CA 49 km (31 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lassen County
Sierra County, CA 78 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Sierra County
Washoe County, NV 86 km (53 mi) NE earthquakes near Washoe County
Nevada County, CA 112 km (70 mi) SSW earthquakes near Nevada County
Butte County, CA 117 km (73 mi) SW earthquakes near Butte County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 0km W of Lake Davis, CA
  2. 1.6 7 km ENE of Cromberg, California
  3. 2.1 14km SE of Honey Lake, CA
  4. 2.5 1km NW of Lake Davis, CA
  5. 2.4 1km NW of Lake Davis, CA
  6. 2.1 1km WNW of Lake Davis, CA
  7. 2.0 1km NW of Lake Davis, CA
  8. 2.8 0km N of Lake Davis, CA
  9. 2.2 1km WNW of Lake Davis, CA
  10. 2.8 0km ESE of Lake Davis, CA
  11. 3.0 0km NNW of Lake Davis, CA
  12. 2.4 0km NNW of Lake Davis, CA
  13. 2.5 0km NW of Lake Davis, CA
  14. 2.1 0km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  15. 2.2 1km WNW of Lake Davis, 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.