QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Orland, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Orland in the 24 hours to 6:56 pm PST (02:56 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) west of Orland, CA, at 12:35 am PST on 6 November 2017 (08:35 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 15 km SW of Paskenta, California

75 km (46 mi) W of Chico, CA

12:35 am PST, Nov 6, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glenn County 33 kmTehama County 54 kmMendocino County 76 kmLake County 76 kmColusa County 79 kmButte County 94 kmTrinity County 102 kmSutter County 119 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
12:35 am PST on 6 November 2017 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) west of Orland, CA · earthquakes near Orland
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glenn County, 33 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3290 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Orland, 42 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 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 33 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · 45 km N 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 39.7933, -122.6900. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glenn County, CA 33 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 54 km (33 mi) NE earthquakes near Tehama County
Mendocino County, CA 76 km (47 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA 76 km (47 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Colusa County, CA 79 km (49 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colusa County
Butte County, CA 94 km (58 mi) E earthquakes near Butte County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 28km WSW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  2. 2.3 15km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  3. 2.9 14km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  4. 1.6 18km NW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  5. 1.5 6km NNE of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  6. 1.7 40km NE of Covelo, CA
  7. 2.4 41km NE of Covelo, CA
  8. 2.0 8km NE of Covelo, CA
  9. 1.8 39km NE of Covelo, CA
  10. 1.8 32km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
  11. 1.9 20km SW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  12. 1.5 9km ESE of Covelo, CA
  13. 1.8 17km WNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  14. 1.6 24km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  15. 1.6 7km N of Lake Pillsbury, 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

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