Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Paradise, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Paradise in the 24 hours to 3:25 am PST (11:25 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 145 km (90 mi) WSW, at 8:10 am PDT on 24 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 5,311 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Paradise
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Paradise, CA, at 8:55 am PST on 24 December 2019 (16:55 UTC), 32 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 4km SE of Concow, CA
29 km (18 mi) E of Chico, CA · 128 km (79 mi) N of Sacramento, CA
- When
- 8:55 am PST on 24 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Paradise, CA · earthquakes near Paradise
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 32 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Butte County, 12 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Foothills fault system, 21 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2515 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Paradise, CA
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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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Paradise, 13 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: Berry Creek, Magalia, Oroville East, Oroville, Thermalito, Forest Ranch.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 32 km S of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 31 km S of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 30 km S 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 39.7162, -121.4835. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 12 km (7 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Yuba County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Plumas County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Nevada County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Sutter County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sutter County |
| Tehama County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tehama County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 8km WNW of Caribou, CA
- 1.9 16km NW of Biggs, CA
- 1.7 7km NNW of Belden, CA
- 1.8 16km E of Willows, CA
- 2.4 6km SSE of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
- 1.6 19km NW of Storrie, CA
- 2.0 8km ESE of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
- 1.9 11km N of Oroville, CA
- 2.2 8km ESE of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
- 2.0 4km NE of Hamilton City, CA
- 1.8 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
- 1.7 10km S of Hamilton City, CA
- 2.0 10km NNW of Oroville, CA
- 2.1 8km ENE of Loma Rica, CA
- 2.5 4km NNE of Hamilton City, 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.