QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Orland, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Orland in the 24 hours to 2:28 pm PST (22:28 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 70 km (44 mi) WSW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Orland

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west-northwest of Orland, CA, at 3:14 am PST on 25 January 2019 (11:14 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 24km NE of Alder Springs, CA

61 km (38 mi) W of Chico, CA

3:14 am PST, Jan 25, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glenn County 25 kmTehama County 43 kmColusa County 74 kmLake County 80 kmButte County 80 kmMendocino County 89 kmTrinity County 106 kmSutter County 111 kmShasta 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
3:14 am PST on 25 January 2019 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) west-northwest of Orland, CA · earthquakes near Orland
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glenn County, 25 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Great Valley thrust fault system, 24 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 2841 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 Orland, 29 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 · 46 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 39.8068, -122.5262. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glenn County, CA 25 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 43 km (27 mi) NE earthquakes near Tehama County
Colusa County, CA 74 km (46 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colusa County
Lake County, CA 80 km (50 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lake County
Butte County, CA 80 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near Butte County
Mendocino County, CA 89 km (55 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mendocino 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. 1.7 16km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  2. 1.9 6km SW of Hamilton City, CA
  3. 1.8 6km SW of Hamilton City, CA
  4. 2.5 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  5. 1.8 36km NE of Covelo, CA
  6. 1.5 41km NE of Covelo, CA
  7. 2.9 15km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  8. 1.9 21km W of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  9. 2.0 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  10. 2.0 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  11. 2.0 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  12. 2.8 4km NE of Hamilton City, CA
  13. 1.8 4km NE of Hamilton City, CA
  14. 2.9 4km NE of Hamilton City, CA
  15. 1.9 19km NNW of Alder Springs, 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.