The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 5 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Thermalito, the biggest of them M2.4. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Thermalito came at 1.7× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Thermalito — records go back to 1980 — was the M5.7 of May 24, 2013, 03:47 UTC: 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California.
How we figure this: 5 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 04, 2025 – Nov 04, 2026), compared with an average of 3.0 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Thermalito, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Thermalito are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Thermalito
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2.1 | 3 km S of East Shore, CA | Oct 29, 2026, 08:09 AM | 1 km | 89 km NNE |
| M1.7 | 13 km SW of Chester, CA | Oct 29, 2026, 03:15 AM | 0 km | 82 km NNE |
| M1.4 | 2 km N of Canyondam, CA | Oct 17, 2026, 05:50 AM | 1 km | 87 km NNE |
| M1.9 | 2 km N of Canyondam, CA | Oct 17, 2026, 01:48 AM | 2 km | 87 km NNE |
| M2.3 | 9 km N of Belden, CA | Oct 13, 2026, 06:11 AM | 10 km | 70 km NNE |
| M2.4 | 9 km N of Greenhorn, CA | Oct 09, 2026, 06:46 PM | 3 km | 89 km NE |
| M2.1 | 4 km NNE of Almanor, CA | Oct 04, 2026, 11:51 AM | 6 km | 90 km NNE |
| M1.9 | 3 km NE of Almanor, CA | Oct 04, 2026, 11:22 AM | 6 km | 89 km NNE |
| M2.3 | 2 km NE of Almanor, CA | Oct 04, 2026, 12:23 AM | 6 km | 88 km NNE |
| M1.7 | 12 km WSW of Almanor, CA | Oct 03, 2026, 07:01 PM | 6 km | 79 km NNE |
Earthquakes per year near Thermalito (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Thermalito
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 143 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Thermalito (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5.7 | 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California | May 24, 2013, 03:47 UTC | 88 km |
| M5.5 | Lake Almanor Earthquake | May 11, 2023, 23:19 UTC | 87 km |
| M5.2 | 3 km N of Blairsden, California | Aug 10, 2001, 20:19 UTC | 89 km |
| M5.2 | 4km NW of Canyondam, CA | May 12, 2023, 10:18 UTC | 87 km |
| M4.9 | 1km NNW of Canyondam, CA | May 24, 2013, 08:02 UTC | 86 km |
| M4.7 | 3 km WSW of Sattley, California | Oct 27, 2011, 06:37 UTC | 96 km |
| M4.6 | 10 km SSE of Sierra City, California | Dec 28, 1985, 19:01 UTC | 88 km |
| M4.5 | 3 km NE of East Quincy, California | Dec 26, 2008, 12:19 UTC | 79 km |
Nearby places
Oroville, CA (3 km) · South Oroville, CA (6 km) · Palermo, CA (9 km) · Chico, CA (32 km) · Yuba City, CA (41 km) · Paradise, CA (28 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 04, 2026, 02:24 UTC · page built Nov 04, 2026, 02:24 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km, measured from the center of the place, not the city limits; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.