QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Paradise, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Paradise in the 24 hours to 8:45 am PST (16:45 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) east of Paradise, CA, at 3:45 pm PST on 6 November 2019 (23:45 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 8km W of La Porte, CA

3:45 pm PST, Nov 6, 2019 · · 11 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Plumas County 40 kmButte County 45 kmSierra County 50 kmNevada County 51 kmYuba County 52 kmPlacer County 76 kmSutter County 90 kmTehama County 109 kmEl Dorado County 111 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
3:45 pm PST on 6 November 2019 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) east of Paradise, CA · earthquakes near Paradise
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Plumas County, 40 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2562 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 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Paradise, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Berry Creek, Challenge-Brownsville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 22 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 The 1975 Oroville, California Earthquake · 49 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 4 km E of Palermo, California · 44 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 3 km N of Blairsden, California · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 5 km ENE of Palermo, California · 43 km SW 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 39.6877, -121.0830. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Plumas County, CA 40 km (25 mi) NNE earthquakes near Plumas County
Butte County, CA 45 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Butte County
Sierra County, CA 50 km (31 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 51 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Nevada County
Yuba County, CA 52 km (32 mi) SSW earthquakes near Yuba County
Placer County, CA 76 km (47 mi) SSE earthquakes near Placer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 9km W of Caribou, CA
  2. 2.1 7km N of Greenhorn, CA
  3. 1.5 6 km SSE of Quincy, California
  4. 2.2 6km SSE of Quincy, CA
  5. 1.6 7 km ENE of Cromberg, California
  6. 2.0 10km N of Oroville, CA
  7. 1.9 22km SSW of Whitehawk, CA
  8. 2.0 3km WSW of Whitehawk, CA
  9. 1.7 2 km ENE of East Quincy, California
  10. 2.3 9km N of Loma Rica, CA
  11. 2.0 6km N of Greenhorn, CA
  12. 1.8 3km N of Spring Garden, CA
  13. 1.8 10km N of Oroville, CA
  14. 2.4 1km NE of Twain, CA
  15. 1.5 4km N of Twain, 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.