QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Corning, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Corning in the 24 hours to 3:39 am PST (11:39 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 81 km (51 mi) SW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Corning

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Corning, CA, at 4:21 pm PDT on 6 September 2020 (23:21 UTC), 24 km deep.

USGS: 6km SE of Corning, CA

30 km (19 mi) WNW of Chico, CA

4:21 pm PDT, Sep 6, 2020 · · 24 km deep · released about 94 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 28 kmGlenn County 39 kmButte County 51 kmColusa County 80 kmYuba County 96 kmShasta County 97 kmSutter County 102 kmLake County 102 kmPlumas County 112 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
4:21 pm PDT on 6 September 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) southeast of Corning, CA · earthquakes near Corning
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 28 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2248 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Corning, 6 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: Los Molinos, Orland, Gerber, Hamilton City, Rancho Tehama Reserve.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 94 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 5.8 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 39.8883, -122.1282. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 28 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA 39 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near Glenn County
Butte County, CA 51 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Butte County
Colusa County, CA 80 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Colusa County
Yuba County, CA 96 km (60 mi) SE earthquakes near Yuba County
Shasta County, CA 97 km (60 mi) N earthquakes near Shasta County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 24km S of Manton, CA
  2. 2.1 10km W of Willows, CA
  3. 1.9 20km NE of Red Bluff, CA
  4. 2.0 11km NNW of Chico, CA
  5. 1.7 14km S of Hamilton City, CA
  6. 1.9 19km NNE of Alder Springs, CA
  7. 1.8 7km NW of Stony Gorge Reservoir, CA
  8. 2.2 15km ENE of Willows, CA
  9. 2.9 6km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  10. 2.5 6km NW of Chico, CA
  11. 2.5 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  12. 2.0 1km WNW of Stony Gorge Reservoir, CA
  13. 1.8 4km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  14. 1.9 14km S of Hamilton City, CA
  15. 2.6 15km E of Willows, 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.