Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Covelo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 7:23 pm PST (03:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 9 km (6 mi) N, at 3:31 pm PST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Covelo
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Covelo, CA, at 6:23 pm PDT on 28 October 2017 (01:23 UTC), 7.9 km deep.
USGS: 4 km NNW of Covelo, California
- When
- 6:23 pm PDT on 28 October 2017 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 47 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 1 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 3298 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Covelo, CA
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 5 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.
Likely felt in: Covelo 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 4.1 on 2016-11-06 — about 6,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 41 km W 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 39.8362, -123.2623. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 47 km (30 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Glenn County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Trinity County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | N | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Lake County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Tehama County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 37km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 1.7 38km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.0 2km NNE of Willits, CA
- 1.9 28km NW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.4 41km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.6 15km WNW of Brooktrails, CA
- 1.9 32km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.2 16km WNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 1.6 32km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.0 25km W of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.8 39km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.6 39km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.7 39km NE of Covelo, CA
- 2.8 40km NE of Covelo, CA
- 2.5 4km E of Covelo, 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.