Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Burney, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Burney in the 24 hours to 3:38 am PST (11:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 11 km (7 mi) ESE, at 3:08 am PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Burney
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) south of Burney, CA, at 2:38 am PDT on 24 March 2021 (09:38 UTC), 8.5 km deep.
USGS: 13km N of Viola, CA
98 km (61 mi) N of Chico, CA
- When
- 2:38 am PDT on 24 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 28 km (17 mi) south of Burney, CA · earthquakes near Burney
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 8.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Shasta County, 36 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hat Creek fault, 22 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 1989 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Burney, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Burney, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Burney, 28 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: Shingletown.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 26 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 40.6307, -121.6563. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Shasta County |
| Tehama County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Lassen County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | E | earthquakes near Lassen County |
| Plumas County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Butte County, CA | 107 km (67 mi) | S | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Siskiyou County, CA | 129 km (80 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Siskiyou County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 14km ESE of Viola, CA
- 2.1 13km NE of Montgomery Creek, CA
- 1.6 16km N of Shingletown, CA
- 2.1 10km NNW of Burney, CA
- 1.9 9km WSW of Chester, CA
- 1.5 12km ESE of Viola, CA
- 2.0 9km WSW of Chester, CA
- 1.5 12km ESE of Viola, CA
- 1.5 6km NNE of Millville, CA
- 1.9 10km WSW of Chester, CA
- 1.6 15km NNE of Mineral, CA
- 1.9 12km ESE of Viola, CA
- 1.5 6km ESE of Bella Vista, CA
- 1.6 15km SSW of Mineral, CA
- 1.6 15km SSW of Mineral, 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.