Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Forest Ranch, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Forest Ranch in the 24 hours to 3:32 am PST (11:32 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 145 km (90 mi) WSW, at 8:10 am PDT on 24 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 5,311 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Forest Ranch
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Forest Ranch, CA, at 2:22 am PST on 23 January 2022 (10:22 UTC), 9.0 km deep.
USGS: 24km NNE of Forest Ranch, CA
42 km (26 mi) NNE of Chico, CA
- When
- 2:22 am PST on 23 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Forest Ranch, CA · earthquakes near Forest Ranch
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 9.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Butte County, 47 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1753 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Forest Ranch, CA
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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 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Forest Ranch, 24 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 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 41 km NNE 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 40.0872, -121.5730. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | S | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Tehama County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Plumas County, CA | 65 km (40 mi) | E | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Shasta County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Shasta County |
| Glenn County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Yuba County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 21km S of Mineral, CA
- 1.7 22km SSE of Mineral, CA
- 2.1 12km N of Mineral, CA
- 1.5 12km ESE of Viola, CA
- 2.5 11km N of Mineral, CA
- 1.6 14km NNW of Chester, CA
- 1.6 4km N of Canyondam, CA
- 1.6 11km S of Manton, CA
- 1.7 11km WNW of Chester, CA
- 1.9 17km S of Mineral, CA
- 2.1 10km WNW of Chester, CA
- 1.9 14km NNE of Mineral, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Chester, CA
- 1.7 5km WNW of Hamilton Branch, CA
- 2.7 2km NW of Chico, 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.