Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Paradise, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Paradise in the 24 hours to 10:37 pm PST (06:37 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 145 km (90 mi) WSW, at 8:10 am PDT on 24 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 5,311 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Paradise
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) northeast of Paradise, CA, at 11:04 am PST on 16 February 2019 (19:04 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km SE of Belden, CA
56 km (35 mi) ENE of Chico, CA · 127 km (79 mi) WNW of Reno, NV
- When
- 11:04 am PST on 16 February 2019 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) northeast of Paradise, CA · earthquakes near Paradise
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Plumas County, 34 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Almanor fault, 23 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 2823 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Paradise, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Paradise, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Paradise, 42 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: East Quincy 29 km, intensity II · Greenville 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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:
- 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 27 km NNE 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 39.9827, -121.2267. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumas County, CA | 34 km (21 mi) | E | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Butte County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Butte County |
| Sierra County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Yuba County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | S | earthquakes near Yuba County |
| Nevada County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Tehama County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tehama 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.
- 1.6 18km SSW of Mineral, CA
- 2.1 15km WSW of Chester, CA
- 2.2 15km WSW of Chester, CA
- 2.0 18km SSE of Mineral, CA
- 1.5 2km SW of Canyondam, CA
- 1.7 3km N of Almanor, CA
- 2.8 1km WNW of Twain, CA
- 2.4 4km ESE of Prattville, CA
- 1.6 3km NE of Almanor, CA
- 2.3 12km W of La Porte, CA
- 2.3 10km ESE of Taylorsville, CA
- 2.6 13km W of La Porte, CA
- 1.7 10km WSW of Chester, CA
- 1.9 5km WSW of Greenville, CA
- 1.5 3 km N of Indian Falls, California
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.