Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Magalia, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Magalia in the 24 hours to 11:49 am PST (19:49 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 150 km (93 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 Magalia
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Magalia, CA, at 3:42 pm PDT on 14 March 2020 (22:42 UTC), 5.8 km deep.
USGS: 9km NW of Caribou, CA
- When
- 3:42 pm PDT on 14 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Magalia, CA · earthquakes near Magalia
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Plumas County, 39 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Almanor fault, 14 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 2431 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Magalia, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Magalia, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Magalia, 45 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: Chester, Greenville, Westwood.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 17 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 41 km NNW 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 40.1263, -121.2433. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumas County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Butte County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Lassen County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lassen County |
| Tehama County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Sierra County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Yuba County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | S | earthquakes near Yuba 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.
- 1.9 8km NW of Chester, CA
- 2.2 9km NW of Chester, CA
- 1.9 9km NW of Chester, CA
- 2.4 1km NE of Twain, CA
- 1.5 4km N of Twain, CA
- 1.6 3km NW of Greenville, CA
- 1.5 7km NW of Indian Falls, CA
- 1.6 4km NNE of Almanor, CA
- 2.5 5km NNE of East Quincy, CA
- 1.6 3km ENE of Prattville, CA
- 1.9 8km WNW of Caribou, CA
- 1.5 1km WNW of Canyondam, CA
- 2.0 3km E of Prattville, CA
- 1.9 6km SE of Chester, CA
- 1.8 2km SSW of Canyondam, 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.