QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Brooktrails, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Brooktrails in the 24 hours to 3:31 am PST (11:31 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 38 km (23 mi) E, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Brooktrails

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Brooktrails, CA, at 9:56 am PST on 22 February 2021 (17:56 UTC), 3.6 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14km NNW of Brooktrails, CA

9:56 am PST, Feb 22, 2021 · · 3.6 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mendocino County 14 kmLake County 80 kmGlenn County 92 kmColusa County 114 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
9:56 am PST on 22 February 2021 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Brooktrails, CA · earthquakes near Brooktrails
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
3.6 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Mendocino County, 14 km S
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 2018 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Brooktrails, 15 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: Brooktrails 15 km, intensity II · Laytonville 15 km, intensity II · Willits 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 4.3 on 2019-04-29 — about 560 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 34 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 39.5573, -123.4693. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mendocino County, CA 14 km (9 mi) S earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA 80 km (50 mi) SE earthquakes near Lake County
Glenn County, CA 92 km (57 mi) E earthquakes near Glenn County
Colusa County, CA 114 km (71 mi) ESE earthquakes near Colusa County
Tehama County, CA 123 km (76 mi) ENE earthquakes near Tehama County
Sonoma County, CA 124 km (77 mi) SSE earthquakes near Sonoma County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 10km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  2. 1.5 2km WNW of Laytonville, CA
  3. 1.9 11km N of Covelo, CA
  4. 2.6 10km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  5. 1.9 8km NW of Laytonville, CA
  6. 2.0 5km WSW of Laytonville, CA
  7. 1.6 8km SSE of Laytonville, CA
  8. 1.7 9km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  9. 1.9 26km N of Laytonville, CA
  10. 2.3 26km N of Laytonville, CA
  11. 1.6 15km SE of Laytonville, CA
  12. 1.7 5km WSW of Redwood Valley, CA
  13. 2.1 9km ESE of Willits, CA
  14. 1.6 10km NE of Navarro Head, CA
  15. 1.8 3km ENE of Laytonville, 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.