QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Red Bluff, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Red Bluff in the 24 hours to 1:25 am PST (09:25 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) west of Red Bluff, CA, at 3:43 am PDT on 15 July 2018 (10:43 UTC), 50 km deep.

USGS: 14km W of Red Bluff, CA

70 km (43 mi) NW of Chico, CA · 42 km (26 mi) S of Redding, CA

3:43 am PDT, Jul 15, 2018 · · 50 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 16 kmGlenn County 66 kmShasta County 70 kmTrinity County 79 kmButte County 90 kmColusa 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
3:43 am PDT on 15 July 2018 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) west of Red Bluff, CA · earthquakes near Red Bluff
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
50 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 16 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3040 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 Red Bluff, 14 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rancho Tehama Reserve, Gerber, Anderson.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 86,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 33 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · 27 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 7km NW of Redding, CA · 48 km N 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 40.1968, -122.4000. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 16 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA 66 km (41 mi) S earthquakes near Glenn County
Shasta County, CA 70 km (43 mi) NNE earthquakes near Shasta County
Trinity County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NW earthquakes near Trinity County
Butte County, CA 90 km (56 mi) SE earthquakes near Butte County
Colusa County, CA 114 km (71 mi) S earthquakes near Colusa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 20km NE of Red Bluff, CA
  2. 2.6 10km SW of Shingletown, CA
  3. 1.7 1km NNE of Palo Cedro, CA
  4. 1.6 3km NNW of Redding, CA
  5. 1.6 4km W of Bella Vista, CA
  6. 1.8 2km WNW of Palo Cedro, CA
  7. 2.7 3km NE of Millville, CA
  8. 1.5 16km SW of Manton, CA
  9. 2.2 15km SW of Manton, CA
  10. 2.0 19km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  11. 1.6 16km W of Manton, CA
  12. 1.6 24km NE of Alder Springs, CA
  13. 1.9 6km ENE of Shasta, CA
  14. 2.0 14km SE of Millville, CA
  15. 1.6 20km NE of Red Bluff, 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.