QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Chico, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Chico in the 24 hours to 1:26 pm PST (21:26 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 120 km (75 mi) W, at 6:14 pm PDT on 10 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 66 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Chico

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north of Chico, CA, at 4:58 pm PST on 17 January 2025 (00:58 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 30 km SW of Mineral, CA

43 km (27 mi) N of Chico, CA

4:58 pm PST, Jan 17, 2025 · · 18 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 38 kmButte County 56 kmShasta County 72 kmGlenn County 80 kmPlumas County 84 kmYuba County 105 kmColusa County 115 kmLassen County 117 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
4:58 pm PST on 17 January 2025 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) north of Chico, CA · earthquakes near Chico
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 38 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 657 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Chico, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 11,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 43 km NE 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 40.1470, -121.7855. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 38 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near Tehama County
Butte County, CA 56 km (35 mi) SSE earthquakes near Butte County
Shasta County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Shasta County
Glenn County, CA 80 km (50 mi) SW earthquakes near Glenn County
Plumas County, CA 84 km (52 mi) ESE earthquakes near Plumas County
Yuba County, CA 105 km (65 mi) SSE earthquakes near Yuba County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 11 km WSW of Manton, CA
  2. 3.4 9 km W of Manton, CA
  3. 1.9 12 km S of Manton, CA
  4. 1.8 13 km NNE of Mineral, CA
  5. 2.3 5 km WNW of Chester, CA
  6. 1.7 11 km WSW of Manton, CA
  7. 1.7 12 km WSW of Manton, CA
  8. 2.2 11 km WSW of Manton, CA
  9. 1.9 12 km WSW of Manton, CA
  10. 1.9 9 km W of Manton, CA
  11. 1.6 5 km WNW of Chester, CA
  12. 2.1 11 km WSW of Manton, CA
  13. 2.2 9 km WSW of Manton, CA
  14. 1.6 13 km SW of Mineral, CA
  15. 2.0 11 km W of Shingletown, 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.