Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Fort Bragg, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Fort Bragg in the 24 hours to 1:02 pm PDT (20:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 13 km (8 mi) SE, at 4:50 pm PDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fort Bragg
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Fort Bragg, CA, at 4:50 pm PDT on 15 October 2026 (23:50 UTC), 3.0 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 8 km NE of Mendocino, CA
- When
- 4:50 pm PDT on 15 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Fort Bragg, CA · earthquakes near Fort Bragg
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 3.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 26 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 13 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 5 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fort Bragg, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Fort Bragg, CA. No account or email needed.
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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Fort Bragg, 13 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.
Likely felt in: Fort Bragg 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 86,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 48 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 39.3497, -123.7205. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Lake County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
| Glenn County, CA | 117 km (72 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| felt reports | 7 | 8 | |
| felt reports | 6 | 7 | |
| reported intensity | 3.4 | 3.3 | |
| felt reports | 4 | 6 | |
| felt reports | 3 | 4 | |
| felt reports | 2 | 3 | |
| reported intensity | not reported | 3.4 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 2 |
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.