Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.2mw
Earthquake near Oroville East, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oroville East in the 24 hours to 6:19 am PST (14:19 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 152 km (94 mi) W, at 8:10 am PDT on 24 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 5,311 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oroville East
This page: a magnitude 4.2 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south of Oroville East, CA, at 6:41 pm PDT on 22 July 2022 (01:41 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 571 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km S of Oroville East, CA
100 km (62 mi) N of Sacramento, CA · 40 km (25 mi) NNE of Yuba City, CA
- When
- 6:41 pm PDT on 22 July 2022 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) south of Oroville East, CA · earthquakes near Oroville East
- Magnitude
- M 4.2 (mw)
- Depth
- 0.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 571 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Yuba County, 25 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Foothills fault system, 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 1504 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oroville East, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oroville East, CA. No account or email needed.
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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 116 km (72 mi) from the epicentre. In Oroville East, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Paradise 35 km, intensity III · Chico 43 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 35 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 4,900× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 220× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.2 about 35 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 72× more
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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 41 km E of this epicentre
- 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 7 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 3 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 2 km S 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 39.4657, -121.4762. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuba County, CA | 25 km (15 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Butte County, CA | 25 km (15 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Sutter County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sutter County |
| Nevada County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Colusa County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Colusa County |
| Placer County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Placer County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
35 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 6 km E of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
- 2.1 8 km WNW of La Porte, CA
- 2.5 15 km S of Hamilton City, CA
- 2.1 7 km ESE of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
- 2.0 17 km E of Willows, CA
- 1.9 19 km E of Willows, CA
- 1.9 5 km WSW of Concow, CA
- 3.1 9 km ENE of Colusa, CA
- 3.2 15 km E of Willows, CA
- 2.1 16 km ESE of Willows, CA
- 2.1 11 km WSW of Durham, CA
- 2.5 17 km E of Willows, CA
- 1.9 17 km E of Willows, CA
- 2.3 16 km ESE of Willows, CA
- 2.2 5 km WNW of Magalia, 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.