Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Hayfork, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Hayfork in the 24 hours to 4:37 am PST (12:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 42 km (26 mi) W, at 2:44 pm PDT on 7 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 15 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hayfork
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) west-southwest of Hayfork, CA, at 1:16 am PST on 17 January 2024 (09:16 UTC), 26 km deep.
USGS: 32 km WSW of Hayfork, CA
- When
- 1:16 am PST on 17 January 2024 ()
- Where
- 32 km (20 mi) west-southwest of Hayfork, CA · earthquakes near Hayfork
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 26 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Trinity County, 43 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 21 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 958 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hayfork, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Hayfork, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hayfork, 32 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 5.3 on 2023-01-01 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 3 km NNW of Burnt Ranch, California · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km E of Rio Dell, 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 40.4068, -123.5127. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 109 km (67 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Tehama County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Glenn County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 26 km ESE of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.9 11 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 2.5 41 km NNE of Covelo, CA
- 2.6 42 km NNE of Covelo, CA
- 1.8 11 km of Hayfork, CA
- 2.1 18 km S of Willow Creek, CA
- 1.7 10 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 18 km ESE of Hydesville, CA
- 1.8 24 km NNE of Redway, CA
- 1.6 26 km SE of Rio Dell, CA
- 2.0 14 km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 1.8 10 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 10 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 2.2 21 km W of Hayfork, CA
- 2.0 25 km WNW 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.