QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Burney, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Burney in the 24 hours to 2:42 am PST (10:42 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) north-northeast of Burney, CA, at 4:21 am PDT on 27 July 2021 (11:21 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 12km W of Fall River Mills, CA

4:21 am PDT, Jul 27, 2021 · · -0.3 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Shasta County 47 kmLassen County 87 kmModoc County 97 kmSiskiyou County 102 kmTehama County 112 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
4:21 am PDT on 27 July 2021 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) north-northeast of Burney, CA · earthquakes near Burney
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Shasta County, 47 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Rocky Ledge fault, 3 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 1934 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Burney, 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 41.0082, -121.5853. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Shasta County, CA 47 km (29 mi) SW earthquakes near Shasta County
Lassen County, CA 87 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lassen County
Modoc County, CA 97 km (60 mi) NE earthquakes near Modoc County
Siskiyou County, CA 102 km (63 mi) NW earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Tehama County, CA 112 km (70 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tehama County
Plumas County, CA 130 km (81 mi) SSE earthquakes near Plumas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 37km SE of Fall River Mills, CA
  2. 2.6 15km SSE of Round Mountain, CA
  3. 1.7 10km W of Big Bend, CA
  4. 1.8 5km NNE of Montgomery Creek, CA
  5. 1.8 18km SSE of Round Mountain, CA
  6. 2.1 8km ENE of Montgomery Creek, CA
  7. 2.3 21km SSE of Burney, CA
  8. 1.8 18km NW of Viola, CA
  9. 1.6 12km WNW of Burney, CA
  10. 1.9 10km NW of Burney, CA
  11. 1.5 12km NW of Burney, CA
  12. 1.6 8km SW of Round Mountain, CA
  13. 1.8 10km W of Big Bend, CA
  14. 1.9 5km SW of Big Bend, CA
  15. 1.8 18km NW of Viola, 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.