QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Fortuna, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Fortuna in the 24 hours to 10:07 am PST (18:07 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 123 km (76 mi) W, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fortuna

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) south of Fortuna, CA, at 1:45 am PDT on 21 July 2022 (08:45 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 19km SE of Petrolia, CA

1:45 am PDT, Jul 21, 2022 · · 13 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Humboldt County 56 kmTrinity County 96 kmMendocino County 104 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
1:45 am PDT on 21 July 2022 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) south of Fortuna, CA · earthquakes near Fortuna
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Humboldt County, 56 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 12 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 1575 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fortuna, 42 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: Redway.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 6.2 on 2021-12-20 — about 1,900,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.2 The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake · 16 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 32 km SW of Ferndale, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.5 30 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Near Rio Dell, California · 32 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 31 km NW of Shelter Cove, California · 19 km W 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 40.2227, -124.1022. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Humboldt County, CA 56 km (35 mi) NNE earthquakes near Humboldt County
Trinity County, CA 96 km (60 mi) ENE earthquakes near Trinity County
Mendocino County, CA 104 km (65 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mendocino 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. 1.9 27km NE of Redway, CA
  2. 1.7 10km SSW of Ferndale, CA
  3. 2.8 18km WNW of Petrolia, CA
  4. 1.9 5km ESE of Redway, CA
  5. 2.0 28km W of Petrolia, CA
  6. 2.3 17km W of Petrolia, CA
  7. 1.8 11km SSW of Ferndale, CA
  8. 3.7 12km WSW of Petrolia, CA
  9. 2.0 17km ENE of Hydesville, CA
  10. 2.3 16km WSW of Ferndale, CA
  11. 1.6 12km W of Petrolia, CA
  12. 3.2 12km W of Petrolia, CA
  13. 2.9 12km W of Petrolia, CA
  14. 1.5 29km NNE of Redway, CA
  15. 2.1 8km SSE of Ferndale, 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.