Earthquake near Montague, CA

USGS: 12km NNE of Montague, CA

9:00 am PST, Feb 8, 2019 · 2019-02-08 17:00 UTC · 23 km deep · released about 79 lb of TNT

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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: 9:00 am PST on 8 February 2019 (2019-02-08 17:00 UTC)
Where: 12 km (8 mi) NNE of Montague, CA · earthquakes near Montague
Magnitude: M 2.3 (md)
Depth: 23 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Siskiyou County, 27 km SSW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2793 days ago · we first saw it 2793 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) NNE of Montague, CA, at 9:00 am PST on 8 February 2019 (17:00 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Yreka.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 79 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 190,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.3 about 79 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 41.8212, -122.4500. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Siskiyou County, CA	27 km (17 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Jackson County, OR	68 km (42 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Jackson County
Josephine County, OR	112 km (70 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Josephine County
Klamath County, OR	117 km (72 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Klamath County
Shasta County, CA	123 km (76 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Shasta County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.6 19 km SW of Ashland, Oregon 17:06 UTC
2.0 12km W of Dorris, CA 11:54 UTC
2.0 7 km WSW of Ashland, Oregon 20:24 UTC
1.8 17km W of Dorris, CA 21:37 UTC
1.8 7 km E of Ashland, Oregon 19:05 UTC
1.7 9km ESE of Grenada, CA 00:25 UTC
1.6 13 km SW of Ashland, Oregon 21:37 UTC
2.5 6km SW of Dorris, CA 00:42 UTC
1.9 6km NNE of Macdoel, CA 21:44 UTC
1.7 9km E of Carrick, CA 10:01 UTC
1.8 13km ENE of Carrick, CA 17:15 UTC
1.6 4km W of Edgewood, CA 03:22 UTC
2.6 23km SW of Mount Hebron, CA 14:11 UTC
2.6 25km ENE of Hornbrook, CA 10:07 UTC
1.8 21 km WNW of Dorris, California 16:49 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:16 UTC. 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.