M3.4 Earthquake near Brooktrails, United States — 10 October 2026
A minor earthquake of magnitude 3.4 was recorded near Brooktrails, United States on , with an epicentre 14 km north of Brooktrails, at a focal depth of 8.5 km. It ranked as the 125th strongest of 6903 earthquakes recorded in the United States in the preceding 30 days.
Time (UTC): 2026-10-10 02:48:36
Time (your timezone): —
Magnitude: 3.4 (minor)
Focal depth: 8.5 km (shallow)
Epicentre: 39.5688, -123.3550
Location: 14 km N of Brooktrails, CA
Country: United States
USGS link to NOAA tsunami information: Not linked
Review status: Automatic
Source: USGS event page
How strong was this earthquake?
Minor earthquakes in this range are felt by people close to the epicentre as a brief jolt or rattle, but they very rarely cause any damage.
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake radiates roughly 2.0 tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
The USGS assigns this earthquake a significance score of 182, which is below the USGS threshold of more than 600 for its significant-earthquake list. The ranking combines magnitude with available Did You Feel It responses and PAGER alert level; it is not a direct measurement of damage.
What the magnitude scale actually measures →
When it happened locally
That is about 18:35 local solar time at the epicentre, in the evening.
This event was deeper than 64% of the 161,638 earthquakes recorded in the United States in our catalogue and stronger than 98% of them.
Where was the epicentre?
The epicentre was located at 39.5688, -123.3550 — 14 km north of Brooktrails. The closest other recorded event was a magnitude 1.5 earthquake 28 km south-southeast of here on 09 October 2026.
The nearest other settlements in our records are Alder Springs (54 km east), Anderson Springs (115 km south-southeast), Anderson (135 km northeast) and American Canyon (182 km south-southeast).
Why the 9 km depth matters
At 9 km this was a shallow earthquake. Shallow events release their energy close to the surface, so for a given magnitude they produce noticeably stronger shaking — and more damage — than deeper ones. Roughly three quarters of all earthquakes worldwide occur at shallow depths.
This catalogue does not ingest eyewitness responses, so it cannot confirm where this earthquake was felt. Based on magnitude alone, an event this size may be noticed locally, especially close to the epicentre. Its shallow focus makes stronger surface shaking more likely than for a deeper event of the same magnitude.
Read more on how focal depth changes what you feel →
What does the tsunami information flag mean?
The USGS record does not carry a link to NOAA tsunami information. That field is not an all-clear and does not state whether a tsunami occurred. In this case, a damaging tsunami would be less likely because at M3.4 it falls below the magnitude 6.5 threshold that generally applies before a submarine earthquake displaces enough water to generate a damaging tsunami; it occurred inland rather than beneath the sea floor. For an active coastal alert, use tsunami.gov or your local warning authority.
How earthquakes generate tsunamis, and what the alert levels mean →
Aftershocks and local seismic history
No further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre since this event was recorded.
35 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 5.6 event near Redwood Valley on 24 June 2026. This M3.4 event released about 1,799 times less energy than that event.
13493 earthquakes have been recorded within 100 km of this epicentre in the past year, 988 of them in the past 30 days.
How long aftershock sequences last, and how large they get →
Where this event sits in the record
This earthquake is part of the October 2026 worldwide record, and of earthquakes in the United States during October 2026. Browse the full monthly archive to compare periods.
Nearest recorded earthquakes to this epicentre
- M1.5 earthquake near Redwood Valley, United States — (28 km SSE)
- M1.0 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (91 km SSE)
- M0.4 earthquake near The Geysers, United States — (93 km SSE)
- M0.7 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (93 km SSE)
- M0.4 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (94 km SSE)
- M0.7 earthquake near The Geysers, United States — (94 km SSE)
- M0.7 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (94 km SSE)
- M1.0 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (94 km SSE)
- M0.7 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (94 km SSE)
- M0.8 earthquake near Cobb, United States — (94 km SSE)
Other recent earthquakes in the United States
- M1.2 earthquake near Trona, United States —
- M1.8 earthquake near Volcano, United States —
- M0.9 earthquake near Johannesburg, United States —
- M2.4 earthquake near Greenhorn, United States —
- M0.4 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
- M0.8 earthquake near Oasis, United States —
- M1.8 earthquake near Tyonek, United States —
- M0.8 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
- M0.9 earthquake near Redlands, United States —
- M2.4 earthquake near Nikiski, United States —
Other magnitude 3 earthquakes worldwide
- M3.2 earthquake near Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic —
- M3.2 earthquake near Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands —
- M3.2 earthquake near Signal Hill, United States —
- M3.1 earthquake near Estacion Coahuila, B.C., Mexico —
- M3.2 earthquake near Chignik, United States —
- M3.5 earthquake near Nikolski, United States —
- M3.6 earthquake near Nikolski, United States —
- M3.6 earthquake near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic —
Questions about this earthquake
How strong was the earthquake near Brooktrails?
It measured magnitude 3.4 — a minor earthquake. A magnitude 3.4 earthquake radiates roughly 2.0 tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
How deep was the earthquake near Brooktrails?
The focus was 9 km below the surface, which counts as shallow.
Was the Brooktrails earthquake felt at the surface?
At magnitude 3.4 and a focal depth of 9 km, shaking would have been concentrated near the epicentre.
When did the earthquake near Brooktrails happen?
10 October 2026 at 02:48 UTC.
Was there a tsunami?
No. The USGS record carries no tsunami-information link for this event.
Have there been aftershocks?
No further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre since this event was recorded.
How often do earthquakes happen near Brooktrails?
35 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 5.6 event near Redwood Valley on 24 June 2026. This M3.4 event released about 1,799 times less energy than that event.