Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Paradise, CA
USGS: 11 km W of La Porte, California
- When
- 12:39 pm PDT on 9 April 2017 ()
- Where
- 44 km (27 mi) ESE of Paradise, CA · earthquakes near Paradise
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 8.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Butte County, 41 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3462 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) ESE of Paradise, CA, at 12:39 pm PDT on 9 April 2017 (19:39 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Berry Creek, Challenge-Brownsville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 22 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 45 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.2 3 km N of Blairsden, California · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 40 km SW 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 39.6757, -121.1210. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 41 km (26 mi) | W | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Plumas County, CA | 43 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Yuba County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Nevada County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Sierra County, CA | 52 km (33 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Placer County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Placer 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.
- 2.0 3km WSW of Cromberg, CA
- 1.5 18km SSW of Whitehawk, CA
- 1.6 2km SW of Cromberg, CA
- 1.6 9km N of Spring Garden, CA
- 2.3 3km ENE of Greenhorn, CA
- 1.9 10km N of Oroville, CA
- 1.9 2km ESE of Twain, CA
- 1.8 10km NNE of Greenhorn, CA
- 1.6 3km NNE of Belden, CA
- 2.1 10km N of Thermalito, CA
- 2.1 5km E of Indian Falls, CA
- 1.8 18km S of Johnsville, CA
- 1.8 18km S of Johnsville, CA
- 2.0 10km NNW of Oroville, CA
- 1.9 12km S of Johnsville, 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.