M 3.3 - 17 km WSW of Petrolia, CA
A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded by USGS near 17 km WSW of Petrolia. On the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program scale, M3.3 is classified "Minor". Among the 1,720 earthquake reports Areazine has published, this M3.3 event ranks stronger than 21% of them (rank #1,270 by magnitude).
The earthquake report, at a glance
- Magnitude
- M 3.3
- USGS class
- Minor
- Location
- 17 km WSW of Petrolia
- Archive rank
- #1,270 of 1,720
- Source
- USGS
- Published
- September 15, 2026
Out of 1,720 earthquake reports Areazine has logged, this one outranks 21% of them — 1,269 recorded a higher magnitude.
Record status: USGS's reading at the moment of detection — the agency keeps revising magnitude, aftershock counts, and felt reports on its own event page as more data arrives.
What Happened
A magnitude 3.28 ml earthquake occurred 17 km WSW of Petrolia, CA, on September 15, 2026, at 12:38:06 UTC. The event registered a depth of 8.99 km.
Location Details
The epicenter was located at coordinates 40.2935°N, 124.485°W, approximately 17 km west-southwest of Petrolia, CA. The shallow depth of 8.99 km classifies this as a shallow earthquake (less than 20 km).
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were recorded for this event. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami flag: 0) and no alert level assigned.
What You Should Know
This was a minor earthquake (M 2.5-3.9), which is often felt but rarely causes damage. Residents in the area should be aware of the possibility of aftershocks.
Source
Data from USGS: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75435962
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Beyond this USGS earthquake report's own category, Areazine surfaces two nationwide peer sets: length-matched and severity/date-matched notices from elsewhere in the archive, distinct from the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (806 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to September 15, 2026.
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