Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Willow Creek, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Willow Creek in the 24 hours to 4:20 am PST (12:20 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 175 km (109 mi) WSW, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Willow Creek
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) south of Willow Creek, CA, at 11:40 am PDT on 26 September 2023 (18:40 UTC), 31 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 28 km S of Willow Creek, CA
- When
- 11:40 am PDT on 26 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 28 km (17 mi) south of Willow Creek, CA · earthquakes near Willow Creek
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 31 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Humboldt County, 29 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bald Mountain-Big Lagoon fault, 22 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 1069 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Willow Creek, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Willow Creek, 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 33 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Willow Creek, 28 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: Willow Creek 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.8× 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 since 2016 was M 5.3 on 2023-01-01 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1954 Eureka-Arcata, California Earthquake · 31 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Eureka, California · 37 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 4 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.4 3 km NNW of Burnt Ranch, California · 17 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km SSE of McKinleyville, California · 49 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 40.6940, -123.5810. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | W | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Del Norte County, CA | 122 km (76 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Del Norte County |
| Tehama County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Siskiyou County, CA | 133 km (82 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Siskiyou County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 10 km SE of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.6 37 km ESE of Hydesville, CA
- 2.0 25 km ESE of Willow Creek, CA
- 1.5 23 km NNE of Redway, CA
- 1.9 32 km E of Hydesville, CA
- 1.8 28 km ESE of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.7 33 km W of Hayfork, CA
- 1.9 25 km E of Hydesville, CA
- 2.9 31 km E of Willow Creek, CA
- 1.7 20 km ESE of Hydesville, CA
- 1.9 22 km E of Hydesville, CA
- 4.0 9 km SE of Blue Lake, CA
- 2.2 35 km WSW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.5 21 km NE of Redway, CA
- 2.5 26 km WSW of Hayfork, 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.