Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Covelo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 1:34 am PST (09:34 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) east-northeast of Covelo, CA, at 8:49 pm PST on 1 January 2018 (04:49 UTC), 6.2 km deep.
USGS: 32km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
92 km (57 mi) WNW of Chico, CA
- When
- 8:49 pm PST on 1 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) east-northeast of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 6.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Glenn County, 53 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 24 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 3229 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 35 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 8.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 · 34 km NNE 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 39.9188, -122.8698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Tehama County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Trinity County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Lake County, CA | 91 km (56 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Colusa County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 10km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 2.5 10km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 1.8 7km ENE of Covelo, 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
- 2.9 14km NW of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.7 40km NE of Covelo, CA
- 2.4 41km NE of Covelo, CA
- 2.0 8km NE 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.