Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Lakeport, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lakeport in the 24 hours to 1:31 pm PST (21:31 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 51 km (32 mi) N, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lakeport
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west of Lakeport, CA, at 12:56 am PST on 16 December 2020 (08:56 UTC), 3.7 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km W of Lakeport, CA
- When
- 12:56 am PST on 16 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) west of Lakeport, CA · earthquakes near Lakeport
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 3.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Lake County, 29 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Maacama fault, 2 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 2150 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lakeport, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lakeport, 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 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Lakeport, 13 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.
Likely felt in: Lakeport 13 km, intensity II · Ukiah 18 km, intensity II · Upper Lake 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 110 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 140,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 99,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 5.1 on 2016-08-10 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 10 km NNW 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 39.0312, -123.0667. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| Colusa County, CA | 73 km (46 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Glenn County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Napa County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Napa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 4km S of Redwood Valley, CA
- 1.8 10km ESE of Willits, CA
- 1.6 8km W of Cobb, CA
- 1.9 5km W of Cobb, CA
- 1.6 8km NW of The Geysers, CA
- 1.7 10km SE of Willits, CA
- 2.3 8km NNE of Healdsburg, CA
- 1.6 3km S of Cobb, CA
- 1.7 3km NE of The Geysers, CA
- 2.1 2km E of The Geysers, CA
- 1.7 8km WSW of Upper Lake, CA
- 1.6 10km ESE of Willits, CA
- 1.8 3km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 1.6 8km WNW of Cobb, CA
- 1.7 10km ESE of Redwood Valley, 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.