QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Magalia, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Magalia in the 24 hours to 7:54 am PST (15:54 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 150 km (93 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 Magalia

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Magalia, CA, at 6:35 pm PDT on 7 May 2024 (01:35 UTC), 2.1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km S of Caribou, CA

6:35 pm PDT, May 7, 2024 · · 2.1 km deep · released about 210 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 28 kmButte County 57 kmSierra County 74 kmLassen County 87 kmYuba County 88 kmNevada County 89 kmTehama County 93 kmShasta County 110 kmPlacer County 115 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
6:35 pm PDT on 7 May 2024 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) northeast of Magalia, CA · earthquakes near Magalia
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
2.1 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Plumas County, 28 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Almanor fault, 14 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 845 days ago

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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Magalia, 45 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: Greenville 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 210 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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 5.5 on 2023-05-11 — about 24,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 18 km NNE 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 40.0430, -121.1467. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 28 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Plumas County
Butte County, CA 57 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near Butte County
Sierra County, CA 74 km (46 mi) SE earthquakes near Sierra County
Lassen County, CA 87 km (54 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lassen County
Yuba County, CA 88 km (54 mi) S earthquakes near Yuba County
Nevada County, CA 89 km (55 mi) SSE earthquakes near Nevada County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 3 km ENE of Almanor, CA
  2. 2.4 3 km NE of Almanor, CA
  3. 2.3 2 km NE of Almanor, CA
  4. 1.9 0 km NNW of Almanor, CA
  5. 1.8 15 km NNW of Chester, CA
  6. 2.1 1 km NNE of Prattville, CA
  7. 2.2 2 km NNW of Canyondam, CA
  8. 2.4 21 km NNW of Belden, CA
  9. 1.7 16 km NW of Chester, CA
  10. 1.7 17 km NW of Chester, CA
  11. 1.6 17 km NW of Chester, CA
  12. 1.6 16 km E of Mineral, CA
  13. 1.6 17 km E of Mineral, CA
  14. 1.6 16 km E of Mineral, CA
  15. 1.6 17 km E of Mineral, 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.