QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Paradise, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Paradise in the 24 hours to 3:51 pm PST (23:51 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 145 km (90 mi) WSW, at 8:10 am PDT on 24 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 5,311 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Paradise

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) east-southeast of Paradise, CA, at 10:48 pm PDT on 18 April 2024 (05:48 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 12 km W of La Porte, CA

10:48 pm PDT, Apr 18, 2024 · · 10 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Paradise Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Butte County 41 kmPlumas County 45 kmYuba County 47 kmNevada County 50 kmSierra County 52 kmPlacer County 75 kmSutter County 86 kmTehama County 108 kmGlenn County 110 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:48 pm PDT on 18 April 2024 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) east-southeast of Paradise, CA · earthquakes near Paradise
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Butte County, 41 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 938 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Paradise, 44 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Berry Creek, Challenge-Brownsville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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 4.4 on 2024-04-05 — about 2,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 21 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 44 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 40 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 3 km N of Blairsden, California · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 39 km SW 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 39.6613, -121.1230. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Butte County, CA 41 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near Butte County
Plumas County, CA 45 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Plumas County
Yuba County, CA 47 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near Yuba County
Nevada County, CA 50 km (31 mi) SE earthquakes near Nevada County
Sierra County, CA 52 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Sierra County
Placer County, CA 75 km (47 mi) SSE earthquakes near Placer 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. 2.3 6 km N of East Quincy, CA
  2. 2.4 10 km N of Greenhorn, CA
  3. 2.3 2 km ENE of Keddie, CA
  4. 2.2 9 km S of Johnsville, CA
  5. 2.0 6 km E of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
  6. 2.1 8 km WNW of La Porte, CA
  7. 2.1 7 km ESE of Challenge-Brownsville, CA
  8. 2.0 5 km SSW of Cromberg, CA
  9. 2.3 4 km NNW of Belden, CA
  10. 3.0 4 km WSW of Johnsville, CA
  11. 2.4 5 km NW of Johnsville, CA
  12. 2.0 19 km S of Johnsville, CA
  13. 1.9 6 km NW of Belden, CA
  14. 1.9 5 km WSW of Concow, CA
  15. 1.9 8 km N of Spring Garden, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.