QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Willits, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Willits in the 24 hours to 11:33 am PST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 9 km (5 mi) ESE, at 10:30 pm PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Willits

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east of Willits, CA, at 6:55 am PDT on 13 September 2026 (13:55 UTC), 6.6 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km E of Willits, CA

6:55 am PDT, Sep 13, 2026 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mendocino County 13 kmLake County 58 kmGlenn County 79 kmColusa County 94 kmSonoma County 104 kmTehama County 120 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
6:55 am PDT on 13 September 2026 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east of Willits, CA · earthquakes near Willits
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Mendocino County, 13 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Maacama fault, 4 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 49 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Willits, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Willits 6 km, intensity III · Brooktrails 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 86,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 5.6 on 2026-06-24 — about 59,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 37 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 39.4167, -123.2885. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mendocino County, CA 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Lake County
Glenn County, CA 79 km (49 mi) ENE earthquakes near Glenn County
Colusa County, CA 94 km (59 mi) ESE earthquakes near Colusa County
Sonoma County, CA 104 km (65 mi) SSE earthquakes near Sonoma County
Tehama County, CA 120 km (74 mi) NE earthquakes near Tehama County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 10 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  2. 1.7 11 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  3. 2.2 9 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  4. 1.8 8 km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  5. 4.0 10 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  6. 2.0 10 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  7. 2.1 10 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  8. 1.6 11 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  9. 1.6 11 km N of Redwood Valley, CA
  10. 1.6 7 km SE of Redwood Valley, CA
  11. 1.1 9 km NW of Redwood Valley, CA
  12. 1.8 17 km ESE of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  13. 2.3 17 km SE of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  14. 2.0 8 km NNE of Brooktrails, CA
  15. 1.8 7 km NNW of Redwood Valley, 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.