QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Colusa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Colusa in the 24 hours to 5:26 am PST (13:26 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 87 km (54 mi) WNW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Colusa

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) north of Colusa, CA, at 3:11 pm PST on 7 February 2020 (23:11 UTC), 28 km deep.

USGS: 16km N of Colusa, CA

99 km (61 mi) NNW of Sacramento, CA · 39 km (24 mi) NW of Yuba City, CA

3:11 pm PST, Feb 7, 2020 · · 28 km deep · released about 58 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Colusa County 28 kmSutter County 43 kmGlenn County 45 kmButte County 48 kmYuba County 57 kmLake County 70 kmYolo County 75 kmTehama County 88 kmNapa County 98 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
3:11 pm PST on 7 February 2020 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) north of Colusa, CA · earthquakes near Colusa
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Colusa County, 28 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 25 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 2465 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 Colusa, 15 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: Maxwell, Biggs, Willows, Williams, Gridley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 58 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 46 km ENE 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 39.3530, -121.9962. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Colusa County, CA 28 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Colusa County
Sutter County, CA 43 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Sutter County
Glenn County, CA 45 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Glenn County
Butte County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Butte County
Yuba County, CA 57 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Yuba County
Lake County, CA 70 km (44 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 7km WNW of Willows, CA
  2. 2.3 8km WNW of Willows, CA
  3. 2.7 2km NNW of Chico, CA
  4. 2.8 15km E of Willows, CA
  5. 3.8 15km E of Willows, CA
  6. 1.8 4km SSE of Hamilton City, CA
  7. 2.2 7km SW of Arbuckle, CA
  8. 2.1 3km W of Chico, CA
  9. 1.8 10km N of Oroville, CA
  10. 2.6 14km SSE of Willows, CA
  11. 1.8 5km SE of Hamilton City, CA
  12. 2.2 16km E of Willows, CA
  13. 3.9 15km E of Willows, CA
  14. 1.9 16km NW of Biggs, CA
  15. 1.8 16km E of Willows, 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.