QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Burney, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Burney in the 24 hours to 8:18 pm PST (04:18 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 11 km (7 mi) ESE, at 3:08 am PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Burney

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Burney, CA, at 1:53 pm PST on 1 February 2020 (21:53 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 23km SE of Burney, CA

1:53 pm PST, Feb 1, 2020 · · 20 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Shasta County 47 kmLassen County 74 kmTehama County 91 kmPlumas County 99 kmModoc County 116 kmButte County 118 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
1:53 pm PST on 1 February 2020 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) southeast of Burney, CA · earthquakes near Burney
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Shasta County, 47 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Hat Creek fault, 6 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 2475 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 Burney, 23 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, 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 40.7233, -121.4933. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Shasta County, CA 47 km (29 mi) W earthquakes near Shasta County
Lassen County, CA 74 km (46 mi) E earthquakes near Lassen County
Tehama County, CA 91 km (57 mi) SW earthquakes near Tehama County
Plumas County, CA 99 km (62 mi) SE earthquakes near Plumas County
Modoc County, CA 116 km (72 mi) NNE earthquakes near Modoc County
Butte County, CA 118 km (73 mi) S earthquakes near Butte 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 WNW of Viola, CA
  2. 2.1 9km NNE of Burney, CA
  3. 1.8 14km NNW of Viola, CA
  4. 2.3 9km ENE of Viola, CA
  5. 2.0 2km ENE of Montgomery Creek, CA
  6. 2.2 14km NNE of Mineral, CA
  7. 1.8 14km NNE of Mineral, CA
  8. 1.5 16km NNW of Shingletown, CA
  9. 2.5 13km N of Viola, CA
  10. 1.8 13km NNE of Shingletown, CA
  11. 1.6 19km NW of Viola, CA
  12. 1.8 16km NNW of Shingletown, CA
  13. 2.0 8km NNW of Chester, CA
  14. 1.5 7km ENE of Mineral, CA
  15. 1.7 12km SE 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.