Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near McKinleyville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in McKinleyville in the 24 hours to 10:50 pm PST (06:50 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 139 km (86 mi) WSW, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near McKinleyville
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) north-northeast of McKinleyville, CA, at 5:14 am PDT on 31 March 2021 (12:14 UTC), 33 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 22km NW of Weitchpec, CA
- When
- 5:14 am PDT on 31 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 49 km (31 mi) north-northeast of McKinleyville, CA · earthquakes near McKinleyville
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 33 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Del Norte County, 46 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1983 days ago
Earthquake alerts for McKinleyville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near McKinleyville, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In McKinleyville, 49 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 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 7.2 The 1980 Eureka, California Earthquake · 42 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 26 km NNW of Willow Creek, California · 24 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km NE of Fieldbrook, California · 41 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.0 4 km NE of Fieldbrook, California · 41 km SSW 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 41.3485, -123.8570. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Del Norte County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Del Norte County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 72 km (44 mi) | S | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Siskiyou County, CA | 113 km (71 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Siskiyou County |
| Josephine County, OR | 118 km (73 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Josephine County |
| Jackson County, OR | 153 km (95 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Jackson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 14 km NW of Trinidad, CA
- 2.6 21 km SSE of Somes Bar, CA
- 2.4 26 km SW of Klamath, CA
- 4.3 16 km WSW of Klamath, CA
- 2.9 8 km S of Somes Bar, CA
- 2.2 6 km NE of Westhaven-Moonstone, CA
- 2.6 13 km NNW of Trinidad, CA
- 2.9 4 km SW of Westhaven-Moonstone, CA
- 2.3 17 km NE of Willow Creek, CA
- 2.1 18 km WNW of Willow Creek, CA
- 2.4 14 km SE of Weitchpec, CA
- 2.5 22km S of Klamath, CA
- 2.8 10km S of Somes Bar, CA
- 2.5 17km SSE of Somes Bar, CA
- 2.1 8km ENE of Blue Lake, 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.