QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rancho Tehama Reserve in the 24 hours to 10:57 pm PST (06:57 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 74 km (46 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 Rancho Tehama Reserve

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA, at 8:10 am PDT on 31 May 2018 (15:10 UTC), 28 km deep.

USGS: 20km SW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA

67 km (42 mi) WNW of Chico, CA

8:10 am PDT, May 31, 2018 · · 28 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glenn County 38 kmTehama County 38 kmColusa County 87 kmButte County 88 kmLake County 90 kmMendocino County 91 kmTrinity County 94 kmShasta County 105 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
8:10 am PDT on 31 May 2018 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) southwest of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA · earthquakes near Rancho Tehama Reserve
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glenn County, 38 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3086 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Rancho Tehama Reserve, 19 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 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 · 34 km NNW 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 39.9105, -122.5832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glenn County, CA 38 km (23 mi) SSE earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 38 km (24 mi) NE earthquakes near Tehama County
Colusa County, CA 87 km (54 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colusa County
Butte County, CA 88 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Butte County
Lake County, CA 90 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Mendocino County, CA 91 km (56 mi) SW earthquakes near Mendocino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 11km NE of Alder Springs, CA
  2. 1.6 22km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  3. 2.0 19km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  4. 2.3 9km NE of Orland, CA
  5. 1.6 24km NE of Alder Springs, CA
  6. 1.8 34km ENE of Covelo, CA
  7. 1.8 15km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  8. 2.1 9km NW of Hamilton City, CA
  9. 2.5 20km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
  10. 1.6 20km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
  11. 2.1 20km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
  12. 1.8 6km ESE of Red Bluff, CA
  13. 1.6 25km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  14. 2.0 8km ESE of Red Bluff, CA
  15. 2.2 10km NE of Orland, 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.