QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Red Bluff, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Red Bluff in the 24 hours to 1:48 am PST (09:48 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 97 km (60 mi) SW, at 5:01 am PDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Red Bluff

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) northeast of Red Bluff, CA, at 2:57 am PDT on 27 August 2019 (09:57 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 20km NE of Red Bluff, CA

66 km (41 mi) NNW of Chico, CA · 37 km (23 mi) SE of Redding, CA

2:57 am PDT, Aug 27, 2019 · · 12 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 25 kmShasta County 49 kmButte County 84 kmGlenn County 84 kmTrinity County 95 kmPlumas County 113 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
2:57 am PDT on 27 August 2019 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) northeast of Red Bluff, CA · earthquakes near Red Bluff
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 25 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2633 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Red Bluff, 20 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Anderson, Shingletown, Gerber.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 · 44 km NW 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 40.3210, -122.0832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 25 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tehama County
Shasta County, CA 49 km (30 mi) N earthquakes near Shasta County
Butte County, CA 84 km (52 mi) SSE earthquakes near Butte County
Glenn County, CA 84 km (52 mi) SSW earthquakes near Glenn County
Trinity County, CA 95 km (59 mi) WNW earthquakes near Trinity County
Plumas County, CA 113 km (70 mi) ESE earthquakes near Plumas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2km WSW of Shasta Lake, CA
  2. 1.6 15km ESE of Anderson, CA
  3. 1.8 11km NW of Shingletown, CA
  4. 1.6 4km NNW of Palo Cedro, CA
  5. 2.1 6km NE of Gerber, CA
  6. 1.6 12km ESE of Viola, CA
  7. 2.2 12km ESE of Viola, CA
  8. 1.7 16km NNW of Shingletown, CA
  9. 1.6 16km NNW of Shingletown, CA
  10. 1.8 11km NW of Viola, CA
  11. 1.9 16km ESE of Anderson, CA
  12. 1.8 5km SE of Bella Vista, CA
  13. 1.9 5km WNW of Bella Vista, CA
  14. 1.6 15km NNE of Shingletown, CA
  15. 2.1 4km W of Bella Vista, 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.