Reviewed by USGSCalifornia26d ago
M2.6 earthquake 101 km W of Petrolia, CA
Monday, August 31, 2026, 18:00:41 UTC · 40.450°N, 125.467°W
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 101 km W of Petrolia, CA on Monday, August 31, 2026, 18:00:41 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 2.6
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
108 kg of TNT
That is about 1/139,425 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4,416 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
11 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km since this event; the largest was M2.6 on September 11, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 249 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4123 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJanuary 31, 1922 · 83 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2The 1992 Petrolia, California EarthquakeApril 25, 1992 · 106 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2The 1980 Eureka, California EarthquakeNovember 8, 1980 · 126 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2153 km W of Big Lagoon, CaliforniaJune 15, 2005 · 102 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1The 1923 Humboldt County, California EarthquakeJanuary 22, 1923 · 37 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1121 km W of Ferndale, CaliforniaSeptember 1, 1994 · 19 km W of this epicenter
- 7.02024 Offshore Cape Mendocino, California EarthquakeDecember 5, 2024 · 39 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0136 km WSW of Brookings, OregonAugust 17, 1991 · 141 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2022M6.4
Humboldt County
20 Dec 2022 · 89 km away · intensity VIII
2 deaths$250 million damage
- 1954M6.6
Humboldt County
21 Dec 1954 · 140 km away
1 death$2 million damage
- 1932M6.5
Eureka
6 Jun 1932 · 104 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1992M7.1
Humboldt County: Ferndale, Petrolia
25 Apr 1992 · 98 km away · intensity VIII
$75 million damagetsunami
- 2010M6.5
Off Coast Northern
10 Jan 2010 · 69 km away
$43 million damage
- 1980M7.2
North Coast
8 Nov 1980 · 126 km away · intensity VII
$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.