Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Hayfork, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Hayfork in the 24 hours to 10:20 pm PST (06:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 42 km (26 mi) W, at 2:44 pm PDT on 7 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 15 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hayfork
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Hayfork, CA, at 2:19 am PDT on 16 September 2018 (09:19 UTC), 30 km deep.
USGS: 13km WSW of Hayfork, CA
- When
- 2:19 am PDT on 16 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Hayfork, CA · earthquakes near Hayfork
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 30 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Trinity County, 23 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2977 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hayfork, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Hayfork, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hayfork, 13 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 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2016-08-28 — about 3,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.4 3 km NNW of Burnt Ranch, California · 37 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 40.5268, -123.3365. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity County, CA | 23 km (14 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 54 km (33 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Tehama County, CA | 104 km (64 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Shasta County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Shasta County |
| Glenn County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Siskiyou County, CA | 136 km (84 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Siskiyou County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 16km ESE of Willow Creek, CA
- 2.6 21km NW of Weaverville, CA
- 2.0 35km W of Hayfork, CA
- 2.6 17km SSE of Hayfork, CA
- 2.0 42km N of Covelo, CA
- 2.4 24km NNW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.5 28km NNE of Redway, CA
- 1.8 31km ESE of Rio Dell, CA
- 2.3 24km E of Hydesville, CA
- 2.9 22km NNW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.5 36km N of Covelo, CA
- 2.0 31km W of Hayfork, CA
- 2.0 31km W of Hayfork, CA
- 2.0 20km SSE of Willow Creek, CA
- 2.0 34km NE of Redway, 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.