Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Covelo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 7:15 pm PST (03:15 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 39 km (24 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA, at 6:24 am PDT on 21 April 2018 (13:24 UTC), 5.1 km deep.
USGS: 39km NE of Covelo, CA
98 km (61 mi) WNW of Chico, CA
- When
- 6:24 am PDT on 21 April 2018 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 5.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tehama County, 59 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3121 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Covelo, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Covelo, 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 39 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 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 · 25 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 40.0335, -122.9132. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tehama County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | E | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Glenn County, CA | 65 km (40 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Trinity County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Lake County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Shasta County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Shasta County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 21km SE of Covelo, CA
- 2.0 11km NE of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.6 22km NW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.0 19km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
- 2.1 32km NNW of Covelo, CA
- 1.6 24km NE of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.8 34km ENE of Covelo, CA
- 1.8 15km NW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.5 20km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.6 20km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 2.1 20km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
- 1.8 19km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 1.9 36km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 1.6 18km NNW of Covelo, CA
- 1.6 25km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, 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.