QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Hamilton City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hamilton City in the 24 hours to 9:15 am PST (17:15 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 85 km (53 mi) WSW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hamilton City

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Hamilton City, CA, at 4:14 pm PST on 27 November 2019 (00:14 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA

14 km (9 mi) W of Chico, CA

4:14 pm PST, Nov 27, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 35 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Butte County 35 kmGlenn County 41 kmTehama County 44 kmColusa County 71 kmYuba County 79 kmSutter County 86 kmLake County 99 kmPlumas County 101 kmShasta County 109 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
4:14 pm PST on 27 November 2019 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Hamilton City, CA · earthquakes near Hamilton City
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Butte County, 35 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2530 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hamilton City, 5 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Chico, Orland, Durham, Corning, Los Molinos, Forest Ranch.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 35 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 440,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 28× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 35 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 39.7807, -121.9813. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Butte County, CA 35 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Butte County
Glenn County, CA 41 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 44 km (27 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tehama County
Colusa County, CA 71 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Colusa County
Yuba County, CA 79 km (49 mi) SE earthquakes near Yuba County
Sutter County, CA 86 km (54 mi) SSE earthquakes near Sutter County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 16km E of Willows, CA
  2. 3.9 15km E of Willows, CA
  3. 1.9 16km NW of Biggs, CA
  4. 1.8 16km E of Willows, CA
  5. 2.1 13km ESE of Willows, CA
  6. 2.4 2km ENE of Gerber, CA
  7. 1.9 11km N of Oroville, CA
  8. 1.7 9km NNE of Los Molinos, CA
  9. 2.0 7km NE of Los Molinos, CA
  10. 1.9 12km SE of Los Molinos, CA
  11. 2.1 15km E of Willows, CA
  12. 2.3 4km SW of Hamilton City, CA
  13. 2.4 8km NNW of Hamilton City, CA
  14. 2.2 6km SE of Corning, CA
  15. 2.3 6km SE of Corning, 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.