QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Susanville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Susanville in the 24 hours to 11:49 pm PST (07:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 15 km (9 mi) N, at 8:16 am PDT on 25 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Susanville

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) southeast of Susanville, CA, at 6:39 am PST on 26 January 2026 (14:39 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 17 km SE of Honey Lake, CA

72 km (45 mi) NNW of Reno, NV

6:39 am PST, Jan 26, 2026 · · -1.2 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 56 kmSierra County 69 kmLassen County 73 kmWashoe County 79 kmStorey County 97 kmNevada County 106 kmCarson City 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
6:39 am PST on 26 January 2026 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) southeast of Susanville, CA · earthquakes near Susanville
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
-1.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Plumas County, 56 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Warm Springs Valley fault, 3 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 279 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Susanville, 49 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 44 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 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 3,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 13 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 48 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 19 km SSE 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 40.1455, -120.1927. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 56 km (35 mi) WSW earthquakes near Plumas County
Sierra County, CA 69 km (43 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Lassen County, CA 73 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lassen County
Washoe County, NV 79 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Washoe County
Storey County, NV 97 km (60 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Nevada County, CA 106 km (66 mi) SSW earthquakes near Nevada County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  2. 2.2 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  3. 2.2 24 km ENE of Honey Lake, CA
  4. 2.1 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  5. 2.2 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  6. 2.6 11 km NE of Susanville, CA
  7. 2.1 19 km N of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  8. 1.6 12 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  9. 1.6 13 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  10. 2.1 23 km E of Herlong, California
  11. 3.4 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  12. 2.5 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  13. 2.3 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  14. 3.2 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  15. 2.4 8 km NE of Lake Davis, 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.