Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Red Bluff, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Red Bluff in the 24 hours to 12:51 am PST (08:51 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 97 km (60 mi) SW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Red Bluff
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) west of Red Bluff, CA, at 9:06 pm PST on 6 December 2017 (05:06 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 34km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
91 km (57 mi) WNW of Chico, CA · 56 km (35 mi) SW of Redding, CA
- When
- 9:06 pm PST on 6 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 44 km (27 mi) west of Red Bluff, CA · earthquakes near Red Bluff
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Tehama County, 44 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3261 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Red Bluff, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Red Bluff, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Red Bluff, 44 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 210 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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:
- 5.5 33 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · 6 km NE 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 40.1590, -122.7525. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tehama County, CA | 44 km (28 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Trinity County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Glenn County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Shasta County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Shasta County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Butte County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Butte County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 40km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 2.3 38km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 1.8 38km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 1.8 37km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 2.1 31km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.5 19km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.4 14km W of Red Bluff, CA
- 2.0 37km NNE of Covelo, CA
- 2.2 40km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.8 28km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.6 20km N of Covelo, CA
- 1.9 35km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 1.6 28km WSW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 1.7 42km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 2.3 15km NW of Alder Springs, 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.