Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Hayfork, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Hayfork in the 24 hours to 7:14 pm PST (03:14 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 42 km (26 mi) W, at 2:44 pm PDT on 7 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 15 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hayfork
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) south of Hayfork, CA, at 4:58 am PDT on 22 August 2018 (11:58 UTC), 40 km deep.
USGS: 38km S of Hayfork, CA
- When
- 4:58 am PDT on 22 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) south of Hayfork, CA · earthquakes near Hayfork
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 40 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Trinity County, 48 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 25 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3003 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hayfork, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Hayfork, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hayfork, 38 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2016-08-28 — about 4,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 33 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · 36 km E of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 40.2142, -123.1345. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | N | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Tehama County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 91 km (56 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Glenn County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Shasta County, CA | 110 km (69 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Shasta County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 41km S of Hayfork, CA
- 2.7 37km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 1.5 41km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.9 21km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 1.7 8km ENE of Covelo, CA
- 2.0 11km WNW of Hayfork, CA
- 2.0 11km WNW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.6 24km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 2.6 17km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 2.0 42km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.6 30km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.7 30km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.5 28km NNE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 36km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.6 34km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.