Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Hayfork, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Hayfork in the 24 hours to 9:10 pm PST (05:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 42 km (26 mi) W, at 2:44 pm PDT on 7 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 15 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hayfork
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west of Hayfork, CA, at 2:38 pm PDT on 22 September 2020 (21:38 UTC), 7.3 km deep.
USGS: 29km W of Hayfork, CA
- When
- 2:38 pm PDT on 22 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) west of Hayfork, CA · earthquakes near Hayfork
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 7.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Trinity County, 38 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2234 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hayfork, CA
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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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Hayfork, 29 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 98 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 98 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.8 on 2016-07-21 — about 5,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 The 1954 Eureka-Arcata, California Earthquake · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 3 km NNW of Burnt Ranch, California · 36 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km E of Rio Dell, California · 47 km W 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 40.5097, -123.5203. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity County, CA | 38 km (23 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 41 km (25 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Tehama County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Glenn County, CA | 139 km (86 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 36km NNE of Redway, CA
- 1.8 8km ESE of Redway, CA
- 2.2 20km SE of Willow Creek, CA
- 2.2 28km NW of Weaverville, CA
- 2.1 16km ESE of Willow Creek, CA
- 1.6 14km E of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.7 14km E of Rio Dell, CA
- 2.1 32km W of Hayfork, CA
- 2.1 30km NE of Redway, CA
- 1.6 35km E of Hydesville, CA
- 2.5 31km WNW of Weaverville, CA
- 2.2 19km SSE of Rio Dell, CA
- 2.3 1km N of Redway, CA
- 4.0 20km ENE of Redway, CA
- 2.2 7km NNW of Hayfork, 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.