QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Orland, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Orland in the 24 hours to 1:33 pm PST (21:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 70 km (44 mi) WSW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Orland

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) west-southwest of Orland, CA, at 2:13 am PST on 2 February 2017 (10:13 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: Northern California

64 km (40 mi) W of Chico, CA

2:13 am PST, Feb 2, 2017 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 24 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glenn County 16 kmTehama County 57 kmColusa County 63 kmLake County 66 kmMendocino County 80 kmButte County 82 kmSutter County 103 kmYuba County 114 kmTrinity County 117 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:13 am PST on 2 February 2017 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) west-southwest of Orland, CA · earthquakes near Orland
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glenn County, 16 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 23 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 3561 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Orland, 32 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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 24 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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 5.1 on 2016-08-10 — about 55,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 39.6818, -122.5642. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glenn County, CA 16 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 57 km (35 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tehama County
Colusa County, CA 63 km (39 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colusa County
Lake County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lake County
Mendocino County, CA 80 km (50 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Butte County, CA 82 km (51 mi) E earthquakes near Butte County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.5 17 km NE of Upper Lake, California
  2. 1.7 17 km NE of Upper Lake, California
  3. 1.7 17 km NE of Upper Lake, California
  4. 1.5 19 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
  5. 1.6 28 km WSW of Paskenta, California
  6. 1.7 28 km WSW of Paskenta, California
  7. 2.1 28 km WSW of Paskenta, California
  8. 1.5 19 km ENE of Potter Valley, California
  9. 1.6 20 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
  10. 1.6 19 km NNE of Upper Lake, California
  11. 1.5 17 km NE of Upper Lake, California
  12. 1.9 17 km NE of Upper Lake, California
  13. 2.1 8 km S of Hamilton City, California
  14. 1.7 18 km NE of Upper Lake, California
  15. 1.5 25 km NNE of Potter Valley, California

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.