M 3.2 - 16 km SSE of Rio Dell, CA
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 3.2 ml earthquake struck 16 km south-southeast of Rio Dell, California, at a depth of 28.9 km.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on May 17, 2026 and geographically references Northern California. Its severity classification of "low" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Northern California.
What Happened
A M 3.2 ml earthquake occurred at 16 km SSE of Rio Dell, CA, on 2026-05-17 at 12:09:57 UTC (Unix time 1779043797930). The event registered a magnitude of 3.19 ml with a depth of 28.92 km.
Location Details
The epicenter was located at latitude 40.3578338623047, longitude -124.065170288086. This places the event 16 km south-southeast of Rio Dell, CA. The depth of 28.92 km is classified as intermediate (20-70 km).
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were recorded. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami field value: 0) and no alert level was issued.
What You Should Know
Earthquakes of this magnitude (M 2.5-3.9) are often felt but rarely cause damage. Aftershocks remain possible following any seismic event.
Source
USGS Event Page - Data provided by USGS.
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (854 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to May 17, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.