Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Laytonville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Laytonville in the 24 hours to 10:28 pm PST (06:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) WSW, at 7:25 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Laytonville
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Laytonville, CA, at 3:28 pm PDT on 14 March 2020 (22:28 UTC), 7.7 km deep. 39 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km SE of Laytonville, CA
- When
- 3:28 pm PDT on 14 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Laytonville, CA · earthquakes near Laytonville
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 39 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 23 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Maacama fault, 3 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 2356 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Laytonville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Laytonville, CA. No account or email needed.
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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 39 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Laytonville, 6 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.
Likely felt in: Laytonville 6 km, intensity III · Brooktrails 22 km, intensity II · Covelo 24 km, intensity II · Willits 27 km, intensity II · Fort Bragg 38 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 290,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.2× more
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 4.3 on 2019-04-29 — about 78 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 30 km WNW 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 39.6403, -123.4410. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 23 km (14 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Lake County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Glenn County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | E | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Trinity County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Colusa County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Tehama County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 20km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 1.6 9km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
- 1.8 9km E of Redwood Valley, CA
- 2.0 20km NE of Brooktrails, CA
- 1.9 21km NNE of Rockport, CA
- 2.2 21km NNE of Rockport, CA
- 1.6 8km NNE of Redwood Valley, CA
- 1.9 20km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 1.9 18km NW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 2.2 20km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 2.5 6km NNE of Fort Bragg, CA
- 1.7 11km SE of Laytonville, CA
- 1.7 9km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
- 2.3 8km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
- 1.9 14km N of Rockport, 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.