QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near East Quincy, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in East Quincy in the 24 hours to 6:20 am PST (14:20 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 6 km (3 mi) N, at 5:11 am PST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near East Quincy

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) south of East Quincy, CA, at 7:21 pm PDT on 14 March 2020 (02:21 UTC), 5.1 km deep.

USGS: 5km NNE of Little Grass Valley, CA

7:21 pm PDT, Mar 14, 2020 · · 5.1 km deep · released about 79 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near East Quincy Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 28 kmSierra County 41 kmNevada County 53 kmButte County 57 kmYuba County 64 kmPlacer County 79 kmSutter County 103 kmLassen County 110 kmEl Dorado County 113 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
7:21 pm PDT on 14 March 2020 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) south of East Quincy, CA · earthquakes near East Quincy
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
5.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Plumas County, 28 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 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 2432 days ago

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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In East Quincy, 20 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: Quincy.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 79 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 190,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 79 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:

  1. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 29 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 3 km N of Blairsden, California · 29 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 Nevada County, California · 40 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 39.7538, -120.9445. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 28 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Plumas County
Sierra County, CA 41 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 53 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Nevada County
Butte County, CA 57 km (36 mi) W earthquakes near Butte County
Yuba County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near Yuba County
Placer County, CA 79 km (49 mi) SSE earthquakes near Placer 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. 2.8 0km N of Lake Davis, CA
  2. 2.2 1km WNW of Lake Davis, CA
  3. 2.8 0km ESE of Lake Davis, CA
  4. 3.0 0km NNW of Lake Davis, CA
  5. 2.4 0km NNW of Lake Davis, CA
  6. 2.5 0km NW of Lake Davis, CA
  7. 2.1 0km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  8. 2.2 1km WNW of Lake Davis, CA
  9. 2.2 0km WNW of Lake Davis, CA
  10. 2.0 1km NW of Lake Davis, CA
  11. 1.9 22km SSW of Whitehawk, CA
  12. 2.2 3km ENE of Canyondam, CA
  13. 2.0 3km WSW of Whitehawk, CA
  14. 1.7 2 km ENE of East Quincy, California
  15. 1.6 3km S 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.