Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near East Quincy, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in East Quincy in the 24 hours to 7:39 am PST (15:39 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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) northeast of East Quincy, CA, at 2:47 pm PDT on 15 May 2020 (21:47 UTC), 12 km deep. 38 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NE of East Quincy, CA
97 km (60 mi) WNW of Reno, NV
- When
- 2:47 pm PDT on 15 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) northeast of East Quincy, CA · earthquakes near East Quincy
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 38 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Plumas County, 4 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mohawk Valley fault, 9 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 475 days ago
Earthquake alerts for East Quincy, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near East Quincy, 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 38 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In East Quincy, 5 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: East Quincy 5 km, intensity III · Greenville 21 km, intensity II · Portola 37 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 6.7 280,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 12,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 8,800× 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 1.3× 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
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 · 31 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.2 3 km N of Blairsden, California · 26 km SE 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 39.9622, -120.8510. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumas County, CA | 4 km (3 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Sierra County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Butte County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Nevada County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | S | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Lassen County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lassen County |
| Yuba County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Yuba County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 3km ENE of Canyondam, CA
- 1.9 5km NNE of Almanor, CA
- 2.0 3km WSW of Whitehawk, CA
- 1.7 2 km ENE of East Quincy, California
- 2.6 4km NNE of Almanor, CA
- 1.5 6km NNE of Almanor, CA
- 1.6 3km S of Canyondam, CA
- 2.7 10km SSE of Beckwourth, CA
- 2.0 6km N of Greenhorn, CA
- 1.8 3km N of Spring Garden, CA
- 1.8 9km W of Susanville, 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
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.