Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Chico, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Chico in the 24 hours to 2:12 pm PST (22:12 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) northeast of Chico, CA, at 10:08 am PDT on 19 March 2026 (17:08 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 21 km WNW of Belden, CA
44 km (28 mi) NE of Chico, CA
- When
- 10:08 am PDT on 19 March 2026 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) northeast of Chico, CA · earthquakes near Chico
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Butte County, 46 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 161 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Chico, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Chico, 48 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: Forest Ranch, Magalia.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 34,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 43 km N 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 40.0647, -121.4823. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Plumas County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | E | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Tehama County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Yuba County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | S | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Shasta County, CA | 91 km (56 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Shasta County |
| Glenn County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Glenn County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 12 km WSW of Chester, CA
- 2.7 22 km SSW of Manton, CA
- 2.3 2 km ENE of Keddie, CA
- 1.6 9 km ENE of Mineral, CA
- 2.0 3 km N of Canyondam, CA
- 1.7 5 km NE of Almanor, CA
- 1.9 3 km NNE of Prattville, CA
- 1.8 2 km SW of Canyondam, CA
- 2.0 3 km NE of Prattville, CA
- 2.3 2 km N of Almanor, CA
- 2.1 3 km WSW of Canyondam, CA
- 1.9 3 km N of Canyondam, CA
- 1.8 17 km ENE of Mineral, CA
- 1.6 18 km ENE of Mineral, CA
- 1.7 17 km ENE 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
- 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.