Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.8mw
Earthquake near Fortuna, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Fortuna in the 24 hours to 12:48 am PST (08:48 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 4.8 earthquake was recorded 33 km (20 mi) south-southeast of Fortuna, CA, at 3:20 am PDT on 16 October 2023 (10:20 UTC), 31 km deep. 731 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 20 km E of Petrolia, CA
- When
- 3:20 am PDT on 16 October 2023 ()
- Where
- 33 km (20 mi) south-southeast of Fortuna, CA · earthquakes near Fortuna
- Magnitude
- M 4.8 (mw)
- Depth
- 31 km below the surface
- Felt
- 731 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Humboldt County, 45 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 880 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fortuna, 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 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 170 km (106 mi) from the epicentre. In Fortuna, 33 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Rio Dell 21 km, intensity III · Redway 29 km, intensity III · Fortuna 33 km, intensity III · Ferndale 34 km, intensity III · Humboldt Hill 47 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 270 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 640× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.8 about 270 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 560× 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 6.4 on 2022-12-20 — about 230 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake · 15 km W of this epicentre
- 6.6 32 km SW of Ferndale, California · 43 km W of this epicentre
- 6.5 The 1932 Eureka, California Earthquake · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 30 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Rio Dell, California · 24 km NNW 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 40.3157, -124.0548. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 11 km SSW of Ferndale, CA
- 2.2 28 km E of Hydesville, CA
- 2.0 32 km NNE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 10 km ESE of Redway, CA
- 2.3 4 km NW of Redway, CA
- 1.8 14 km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.9 3 km SE of Ferndale, CA
- 1.7 14 km WSW of Ferndale, CA
- 2.1 5 km ESE of Ferndale, CA
- 1.6 18 km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.7 14 km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 2.2 15 km WSW of Ferndale, CA
- 2.5 10 km ENE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.8 4 km E of Ferndale, CA
- 1.6 14 km WSW 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
- 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.