Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Laytonville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Laytonville in the 24 hours to 12:14 pm PST (20:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) WSW, at 7:25 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Laytonville
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Laytonville, CA, at 5:34 pm PDT on 21 October 2026 (00:34 UTC), 6.3 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 22 km NE of Rockport, CA
- When
- 5:34 pm PDT on 21 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Laytonville, CA · earthquakes near Laytonville
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 6.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 54 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Maacama fault, 18 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 21 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Laytonville, CA
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Laytonville, 27 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Redway.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 2026-07-11 — about 18,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 14 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km ESE of Shelter Cove, California · 32 km WNW 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 39.8920, -123.6557. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Glenn County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Lake County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
7 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 9 km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.5 10 km NE of Rockport, CA
- 2.4 13 km WSW of Laytonville, CA
- 1.8 31 km NW of Covelo, CA
- 1.7 14 km N of Brooktrails, CA
- 1.7 15 km N of Brooktrails, CA
- 2.3 30 km NNW of Covelo, 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.