QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Shasta Lake, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Shasta Lake in the 24 hours to 7:52 am PST (15:52 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 117 km (73 mi) SW, at 3:21 pm PDT on 5 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 122 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Shasta Lake

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 quarry blast was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Shasta Lake, CA, at 11:46 am PDT on 6 August 2019 (18:46 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 9km NNE of Shasta Lake, CA

21 km (13 mi) NNE of Redding, CA · 118 km (73 mi) NNW of Chico, CA

11:46 am PDT, Aug 6, 2019 · · -0.8 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Shasta County 23 kmTrinity County 68 kmTehama County 70 kmSiskiyou County 95 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
11:46 am PDT on 6 August 2019 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Shasta Lake, CA · earthquakes near Shasta Lake
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
-0.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Shasta County, 23 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2653 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Shasta Lake, 9 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: Shasta Lake 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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. 5.1 7km NW of Redding, CA · 16 km SSW 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 40.7513, -122.3167. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Shasta County, CA 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Shasta County
Trinity County, CA 68 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Trinity County
Tehama County, CA 70 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near Tehama County
Siskiyou County, CA 95 km (59 mi) N earthquakes near Siskiyou County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 11km WNW of Big Bend, CA
  2. 1.6 4km NNW of Palo Cedro, CA
  3. 1.7 16km NNW of Shingletown, CA
  4. 1.6 16km NNW of Shingletown, CA
  5. 1.8 11km NW of Viola, CA
  6. 1.9 16km ESE of Anderson, CA
  7. 1.8 5km SE of Bella Vista, CA
  8. 1.7 9km NE of Shasta Lake, CA
  9. 1.9 5km WNW of Bella Vista, CA
  10. 1.6 15km NNE of Shingletown, CA
  11. 1.7 9km NNE of Shasta Lake, CA
  12. 2.1 4km W of Bella Vista, CA
  13. 1.6 5km ESE of Redding, CA
  14. 1.7 4km SE of Redding, CA
  15. 1.6 1km N of Shasta, 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.