Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Eureka, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Eureka in the 24 hours to 11:55 am PST (19:55 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 128 km (79 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 Eureka
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) west of Eureka, CA, at 9:28 am PST on 10 December 2024 (17:28 UTC), 20 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 31 km WNW of Bayview, CA
- When
- 9:28 am PST on 10 December 2024 ()
- Where
- 33 km (21 mi) west of Eureka, CA · earthquakes near Eureka
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Humboldt County, 54 km E
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 632 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Eureka, CA
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Alerts are on for .
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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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Eureka, 33 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 570 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 27,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 6.4 on 2022-12-20 — about 210,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1980 Eureka, California Earthquake · 45 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.6 32 km SW of Ferndale, California · 44 km S of this epicentre
- 6.5 The 1932 Eureka, California Earthquake · 23 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.5 30 km WSW of Ferndale, California · 39 km S of this epicentre
- 6.5 The 2010 Eureka, California Earthquake · 19 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 40.7832, -124.5565. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 54 km (33 mi) | E | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Del Norte County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Del Norte County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 17 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 2.3 33 km NW of Ferndale, CA
- 2.8 44 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 2.3 26 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 2.0 33 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 2.3 15 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 2.9 63 km W of Ferndale, CA
- 2.2 17 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 3.0 58 km WNW of Ferndale, CA
- 2.1 26 km WNW of Petrolia, CA
- 2.1 13 km NNW 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.