QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Upper Lake, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Upper Lake in the 24 hours to 2:43 am PST (10:43 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:31 am PST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Upper Lake

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west of Upper Lake, CA, at 8:17 am PDT on 30 October 2018 (15:17 UTC), 5.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km W of Upper Lake, CA

8:17 am PDT, Oct 30, 2018 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 24 kmMendocino County 48 kmColusa County 67 kmGlenn County 71 kmSonoma County 71 kmNapa County 94 kmYolo County 110 kmSutter 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
8:17 am PDT on 30 October 2018 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) west of Upper Lake, CA · earthquakes near Upper Lake
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Lake County, 24 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Maacama fault, 14 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 2933 days ago

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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Upper Lake, 8 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.

Likely felt in: Upper Lake 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 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 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 5.1 on 2016-08-10 — about 50,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 6 km ESE of Talmage, California · 9 km SW 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 39.1647, -123.0088. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, CA 24 km (15 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lake County
Mendocino County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Colusa County, CA 67 km (41 mi) E earthquakes near Colusa County
Glenn County, CA 71 km (44 mi) NE earthquakes near Glenn County
Sonoma County, CA 71 km (44 mi) S earthquakes near Sonoma County
Napa County, CA 94 km (58 mi) SE earthquakes near Napa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 6km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  2. 1.8 6km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  3. 1.6 7km WNW of The Geysers, CA
  4. 1.8 3km N of The Geysers, CA
  5. 1.5 7km NW of The Geysers, CA
  6. 1.6 3km W of Cobb, CA
  7. 1.9 6km NW of The Geysers, CA
  8. 1.9 6km NW of The Geysers, CA
  9. 1.6 7km ENE of Willits, CA
  10. 1.9 16km NE of Upper Lake, CA
  11. 1.8 1km E of The Geysers, CA
  12. 1.6 2km ESE of The Geysers, CA
  13. 1.7 4km W of Cobb, CA
  14. 1.6 6km WNW of The Geysers, CA
  15. 1.6 6km NW of The Geysers, 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.