M 3.6 Earthquake 26 km W of Petrolia, 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 3.6 earthquake occurred 26 km west of Petrolia, California, on September 9, 2026.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on September 10, 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 3.6 mw earthquake struck at 12:44:47 UTC on September 9, 2026 (Unix time 1789003487490). The event was located 26 km W of Petrolia, CA, with a depth of 19.23 km.
Location Details
The epicenter was at latitude 40.2935, longitude -124.5852. The depth of 19.23 km classifies this as a shallow earthquake (less than 20 km).
Impact Assessment
The earthquake was felt by 2 people, with a maximum reported intensity (CDI) of 3.1 and instrumental intensity (MMI) of 2.925. No tsunami was generated (tsunami flag: 0) and no alert level was issued.
What You Should Know
Earthquakes of this magnitude are often felt but rarely cause damage. Minor aftershocks remain possible in the area.
Source
USGS Event Page - Data from 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 (817 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to September 10, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.