Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Columbia, CA
USGS: Northern California
- When
- 9:16 am PST on 1 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Columbia, CA · earthquakes near Columbia
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Calaveras County, 18 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Foothills fault system, 9 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 3591 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Columbia, CA, at 9:16 am PST on 1 December 2016 (17:16 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Angels Camp, Murphys, Sonora, East Sonora, Jamestown, Forest Meadows.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 38.0577, -120.4450. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calaveras County, CA | 18 km (11 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Calaveras County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Amador County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Amador County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
20 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 9 km NW of Chinese Camp, CA
- 2.1 20 km ENE of Mi-Wuk Village, CA
- 1.9 18km E of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
- 2.3 6km S of Vallecito, CA
- 2.1 11km E of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
- 1.8 7km WNW of Chinese Camp, CA
- 1.5 16km ESE of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
- 2.5 18km SE of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
- 1.9 3km WNW of Chinese Camp, CA
- 2.3 14km S of Groveland-Big Oak Flat, CA
- 1.7 4 km SSE of Vallecito, California
- 1.5 Northern California
- 1.7 3 km ESE of Murphys, California
- 1.5 4 km WNW of Tuttletown, California
- 1.5 4 km ESE of Vallecito, California
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.