QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Talmage, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Talmage in the last 24 hours. M 1.5, 3 km (2 mi) NE of Talmage, at 3:26 am PST on 12 November 2026 (11:26 UTC); the estimated shaking in Talmage was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Talmage

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Talmage, CA, at 4:24 pm PST on 22 December 2021 (00:24 UTC), 3.5 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 13km SE of Talmage, CA

4:24 pm PST, Dec 22, 2021 · · 3.5 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 30 kmMendocino County 54 kmSonoma County 59 kmColusa County 74 kmGlenn County 85 kmNapa County 88 kmYolo County 109 kmMarin County 114 kmSutter County 119 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
4:24 pm PST on 22 December 2021 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) southeast of Talmage, CA · earthquakes near Talmage
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
3.5 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Lake County, 30 km ENE
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 1717 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 Talmage, 13 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: Lakeport 14 km, intensity II · Ukiah 17 km, intensity II · Upper Lake 20 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 5.1 on 2016-08-10 — about 7,900 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 9 km N 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 39.0405, -123.0787. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, CA 30 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lake County
Mendocino County, CA 54 km (33 mi) NW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Sonoma County, CA 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Sonoma County
Colusa County, CA 74 km (46 mi) ENE earthquakes near Colusa County
Glenn County, CA 85 km (53 mi) NE earthquakes near Glenn County
Napa County, CA 88 km (55 mi) SE earthquakes near Napa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 7km NW of The Geysers, CA
  2. 1.7 4km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  3. 1.8 6km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  4. 1.8 3km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  5. 1.8 1km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  6. 1.7 2km W of Cobb, CA
  7. 2.6 10km NW of The Geysers, CA
  8. 2.2 2km NNE of The Geysers, CA
  9. 1.6 4km S of Redwood Valley, CA
  10. 1.8 6km NW of The Geysers, CA
  11. 1.8 8km NW of Redwood Valley, CA
  12. 1.8 9km WNW of Cobb, CA
  13. 1.7 8km NW of The Geysers, CA
  14. 2.1 8km NW of The Geysers, CA
  15. 2.2 6km S of Anderson Springs, 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.