QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Dunnigan, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Dunnigan in the 24 hours to 8:33 am PST (16:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.2, 85 km (53 mi) W, at 7:40 pm PDT on 28 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 240 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dunnigan

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) northwest of Dunnigan, CA, at 12:19 pm PDT on 22 July 2021 (19:19 UTC), 16 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km NW of Dunnigan, CA

64 km (39 mi) NW of Sacramento, CA · 38 km (24 mi) NW of Woodland, CA

12:19 pm PDT, Jul 22, 2021 · · 16 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sutter County 30 kmYolo County 31 kmColusa County 32 kmNapa County 55 kmLake County 65 kmYuba County 69 kmSolano County 75 kmSacramento County 80 kmGlenn County 80 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
12:19 pm PDT on 22 July 2021 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) northwest of Dunnigan, CA · earthquakes near Dunnigan
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Sutter County, 30 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 13 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 1874 days ago

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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Dunnigan, 8 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: Arbuckle, Williams, Esparto.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
  4. 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 38.9415, -122.0228. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sutter County, CA 30 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sutter County
Yolo County, CA 31 km (19 mi) SSE earthquakes near Yolo County
Colusa County, CA 32 km (20 mi) NW earthquakes near Colusa County
Napa County, CA 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Napa County
Lake County, CA 65 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lake County
Yuba County, CA 69 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Yuba County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 11km ENE of Hidden Valley Lake, CA
  2. 1.6 19km ENE of Clearlake Oaks, CA
  3. 1.7 14km E of Angwin, CA
  4. 1.5 15km E of Angwin, CA
  5. 1.6 13km ESE of Hidden Valley Lake, CA
  6. 2.0 12km ESE of Hidden Valley Lake, CA
  7. 1.9 12km ESE of Hidden Valley Lake, CA
  8. 2.0 12km ESE of Hidden Valley Lake, CA
  9. 1.7 17km E of Angwin, CA
  10. 2.2 15km ENE of Angwin, CA
  11. 1.8 14km NNE of Angwin, CA
  12. 2.0 7km WNW of Davis, CA
  13. 2.0 6km WNW of Davis, CA
  14. 1.9 14km E of Angwin, CA
  15. 1.6 9km ESE of Hidden Valley 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.