QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Orland, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Orland in the 24 hours to 7:53 pm PST (03:53 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 41 km (26 mi) west of Orland, CA, at 7:39 pm PDT on 9 August 2019 (02:39 UTC), 48 km deep.

USGS: 15km NNE of Alder Springs, CA

73 km (46 mi) W of Chico, CA

7:39 pm PDT, Aug 9, 2019 · · 48 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glenn County 31 kmTehama County 54 kmLake County 75 kmMendocino County 76 kmColusa County 77 kmButte County 93 kmTrinity County 103 kmSutter County 118 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
7:39 pm PDT on 9 August 2019 ()
Where
41 km (26 mi) west of Orland, CA · earthquakes near Orland
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
48 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glenn County, 31 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2647 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, 41 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 91 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 N 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 39.7840, -122.6763. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glenn County, CA 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 54 km (33 mi) NE earthquakes near Tehama County
Lake County, CA 75 km (47 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Mendocino County, CA 76 km (47 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Colusa County, CA 77 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colusa County
Butte County, CA 93 km (58 mi) E earthquakes near Butte County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2km NW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  2. 1.5 20km NW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  3. 1.7 21km SE of Covelo, CA
  4. 2.1 20km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  5. 1.9 20km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  6. 1.9 18km NW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  7. 2.2 20km NNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  8. 1.9 41km NE of Covelo, CA
  9. 1.8 30km NE of Covelo, CA
  10. 1.8 4km ESE of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  11. 1.8 13km SSE of Covelo, CA
  12. 1.6 24km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  13. 2.6 23km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  14. 1.6 30km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
  15. 1.8 27km ENE of Covelo, 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.