QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Boonville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Boonville in the 24 hours to 12:18 am PST (08:18 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 65 km (41 mi) NNE, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Boonville

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west of Boonville, CA, at 11:59 pm PST on 18 December 2017 (07:59 UTC), 1.1 km deep.

USGS: 8km W of Boonville, CA

91 km (57 mi) NW of Santa Rosa, CA

11:59 pm PST, Dec 18, 2017 · · 1.1 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mendocino County 47 kmLake County 63 kmSonoma County 72 kmColusa County 107 kmGlenn County 112 kmNapa County 114 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
11:59 pm PST on 18 December 2017 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) west of Boonville, CA · earthquakes near Boonville
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
1.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mendocino County, 47 km N
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 17 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 3249 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Boonville, 8 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: Boonville 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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. 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 34 km ENE 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 39.0128, -123.4642. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mendocino County, CA 47 km (29 mi) N earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA 63 km (39 mi) E earthquakes near Lake County
Sonoma County, CA 72 km (44 mi) SE earthquakes near Sonoma County
Colusa County, CA 107 km (67 mi) E earthquakes near Colusa County
Glenn County, CA 112 km (70 mi) NE earthquakes near Glenn County
Napa County, CA 114 km (71 mi) ESE earthquakes near Napa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 3km NW of Redwood Valley, CA
  2. 2.2 9km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  3. 1.7 3km WNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  4. 1.7 19km NNW of Cloverdale, CA
  5. 1.8 4km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  6. 1.6 15km SE of Boonville, CA
  7. 2.4 16km SE of Boonville, CA
  8. 2.4 16km SE of Boonville, CA
  9. 1.6 9km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
  10. 1.8 5km E of Boonville, CA
  11. 1.6 13km WSW of Lakeport, CA
  12. 1.7 15km SE of Boonville, CA
  13. 2.0 4km NW of Redwood Valley, CA
  14. 1.6 7km SW of Lakeport, CA
  15. 1.9 2km WNW of Redwood Valley, 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.