QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Greenville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Greenville in the 24 hours to 10:45 am PST (18:45 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 18 km (11 mi) SSE, at 5:11 am PST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Greenville

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Greenville, CA, at 10:13 am PDT on 29 August 2020 (17:13 UTC), 8.7 km deep.

USGS: 7km NNW of Greenville, CA

10:13 am PDT, Aug 29, 2020 · · 8.7 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 27 kmLassen County 66 kmButte County 78 kmSierra County 80 kmNevada County 101 kmTehama County 105 kmYuba County 107 kmShasta County 109 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
10:13 am PDT on 29 August 2020 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Greenville, CA · earthquakes near Greenville
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
8.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Plumas County, 27 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Almanor fault, 6 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 2264 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Greenville, 7 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: Westwood, Chester, Quincy.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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:

  1. 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 5 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 49 km NW 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 40.1937, -120.9952. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 27 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near Plumas County
Lassen County, CA 66 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lassen County
Butte County, CA 78 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Butte County
Sierra County, CA 80 km (49 mi) SSE earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 101 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Nevada County
Tehama County, CA 105 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near Tehama County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 25km NNE of Hamilton Branch, CA
  2. 1.7 2km NE of Chester, CA
  3. 1.8 18km WSW of Almanor, CA
  4. 2.2 3km ENE of Canyondam, CA
  5. 1.9 5km NNE of Almanor, CA
  6. 1.7 2 km ENE of East Quincy, California
  7. 1.5 11km SW of Chester, CA
  8. 2.6 4km NNE of Almanor, CA
  9. 1.5 6km NNE of Almanor, CA
  10. 2.0 8km NNW of Chester, CA
  11. 1.5 7km ENE of Mineral, CA
  12. 1.6 3km S of Canyondam, CA
  13. 1.7 12km SE of Mineral, CA
  14. 2.0 6km N of Greenhorn, CA
  15. 1.8 3km N of Spring Garden, 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.