Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Chico, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Chico in the 24 hours to 4:15 am PST (12:15 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 120 km (75 mi) W, at 6:14 pm PDT on 10 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 66 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Chico
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Chico, CA, at 12:51 am PST on 19 February 2021 (08:51 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 3km W of Chico, CA
in Chico, CA
- When
- 12:51 am PST on 19 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Chico, CA · earthquakes near Chico
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Butte County, 24 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2092 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Chico, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Chico, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Chico, 3 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: Chico 3 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 44 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 46 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 39.7395, -121.8668. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 24 km (15 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Glenn County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Tehama County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Yuba County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Colusa County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Sutter County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sutter 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.
- 2.9 6 km W of Hamilton City, CA
- 2.2 7 km ENE of Hamilton City, CA
- 2.5 28 km SSW of Mineral, CA
- 2.4 18 km E of Willows, CA
- 2.6 15 km ENE of Willows, CA
- 2.1 18km E of Willows, CA
- 2.2 18km E of Willows, CA
- 2.1 8km WSW of Durham, CA
- 2.3 14km S of Hamilton City, CA
- 1.9 3km NW of Chico, CA
- 2.1 10km N of Oroville, CA
- 2.0 5km SSE of Oroville East, CA
- 2.7 2km NW of Chico, CA
- 2.1 13km SSE of Willows, CA
- 4.2 5km S of Oroville East, 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.