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United States · California

M3.2 Earthquake near Humboldt County, California (United States)

UTC time: 2026-05-17 18:49:58 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M3.2 earthquake was recorded near Humboldt County, California (United States) on May 17, 2026 at 18:49 UTC. With a focal depth of about 29 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this magnitude are often felt but rarely cause damage.

The event was recorded by USGS. United States: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 178 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.5.

Details

ID
3ebdd688b84b8159df13ffb8b0fbe73ae757ebb5
Magnitude
M3.2
Depth
28.9 km
UTC time
2026-05-17 18:49:58 UTC
Local time
—
Country
United States
State
California
City
Humboldt County
County
Humboldt County
Source
usgs
Coordinates
40.35783, -124.06517
Temperature
15.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 28.9 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 28.9 km
Shallow
28.9 km
28.9 km — deeper than the regional average (15.2 km)
Regional average: 15.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Clear Lake Volcanic Field
    Distance: 190 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 1'439 m ·United States
  • Shasta
    Distance: 196 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 4'317 m ·Last eruption: 1250 ·United States
  • Lassen Volcanic Center
    Distance: 217 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 3'187 m ·Last eruption: 1917 ·United States
  • Medicine Lake
    Distance: 253 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 2'412 m ·Last eruption: 1060 ·United States
  • Escanaba Segment
    Distance: 298 km ·Fissure vent(s) ·Elevation: -1'700 m ·Last eruption: -2260 ·United States
  • Jackson Segment
    Distance: 319 km ·Fissure vent(s) ·Elevation: -3'100 m ·United States

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Nuclear power plants

  • Humboldt Bay nuclear power plantUnited StatesPermanently shut downReactor units at site: 1
    44.3 kmStraight-line distance

Source: Global Energy Monitor · Global Nuclear Power Tracker · Dataset date: 2026-08

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

California

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 239 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · United States

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · United States

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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