Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Laytonville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Laytonville in the 24 hours to 8:30 pm PST (04:30 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) WSW, at 7:25 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Laytonville
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Laytonville, CA, at 7:28 pm PDT on 20 April 2023 (02:28 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 27km NNW of Laytonville, CA
- When
- 7:28 pm PDT on 20 April 2023 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Laytonville, CA · earthquakes near Laytonville
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- -0.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 56 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 11 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 1229 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Laytonville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Laytonville, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Laytonville, 27 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: Laytonville 27 km, intensity II · Covelo 31 km, intensity II · Redway 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 780 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 19,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 14,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 780 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 4.3 on 2022-10-20 — about 120 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 22 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km ESE of Shelter Cove, California · 38 km WNW 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 39.9245, -123.5650. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Trinity County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Glenn County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Lake County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Tehama County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tehama 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.
- 1.9 13 km SSE of Laytonville, CA
- 2.3 4 km ESE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 13 km SSE of Laytonville, CA
- 2.9 14 km S of Redway, CA
- 2.1 15 km N of Covelo, CA
- 2.1 15 km N of Covelo, CA
- 2.3 15 km N of Covelo, CA
- 2.5 40 km NNE of Covelo, CA
- 2.0 15 km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.8 14 km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.6 15 km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.7 11 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 2.4 15 km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.7 8 km NNE of Laytonville, CA
- 1.8 15 km N of Covelo, 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.