California earthquakes

M2.7 earthquake 81km W of Petrolia, CA

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 81km W of Petrolia, CA on Sat, Apr 24, 2021, 3:21 AM PDT (10:21 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.2 135km W of Petrolia, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Ferndale forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
2.7 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Northern California Seismic System
Local time
UTC
2021-04-24 10:21:15 UTC
Depth
9.5 km (5.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
40.403° N, 125.236° W
Felt reports
1
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
2.72Md, durationNorthern California Seismic SystemPreferred · Final · ±0.218 · 37 stations
2.3ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed · ±0.065 · 31 stations

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 9.4 km horizontally, 9.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.22
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
320°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
14

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 47 in the 60 days after this one and 33 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayCalifornia earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nc73553780 (also filed as us6000e4c0). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC.