QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Redway, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Redway in the 24 hours to 12:53 am PST (08:53 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 153 km (95 mi) WNW, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Redway

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Redway, CA, at 7:25 pm PST on 18 November 2018 (03:25 UTC), 24 km deep.

USGS: 3km NNE of Redway, CA

7:25 pm PST, Nov 18, 2018 · · 24 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Humboldt County 63 kmTrinity County 81 kmMendocino County 85 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
7:25 pm PST on 18 November 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Redway, CA · earthquakes near Redway
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Humboldt County, 63 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Bartlett Springs fault system, 21 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 2913 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 Redway, 3 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 40 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 4,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.2 The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 31 km NW of Shelter Cove, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 30 km SSW of Scotia, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 41 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 7 km ESE of Shelter Cove, California · 23 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 40.1457, -123.8102. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Humboldt County, CA 63 km (39 mi) N earthquakes near Humboldt County
Trinity County, CA 81 km (50 mi) NE earthquakes near Trinity County
Mendocino County, CA 85 km (53 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mendocino County
Glenn County, CA 135 km (84 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glenn County
Lake County, CA 147 km (91 mi) SE earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 14km SE of Petrolia, CA
  2. 2.1 6km NW of Redway, CA
  3. 1.9 4km NNW of Redway, CA
  4. 2.0 9km S of Rio Dell, CA
  5. 1.8 15km E of Hydesville, CA
  6. 2.3 6km SW of Petrolia, CA
  7. 2.0 31km W of Hayfork, CA
  8. 2.0 31km W of Hayfork, CA
  9. 2.7 14km SE of Petrolia, CA
  10. 1.6 14km SE of Petrolia, CA
  11. 2.4 13km SE of Petrolia, CA
  12. 2.0 34km NE of Redway, CA
  13. 1.9 25km NNE of Redway, CA
  14. 2.0 8km ENE of Petrolia, CA
  15. 1.8 18km NNE 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.