Earthquake near Covelo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 4:24 am PST (12:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 9 km (6 mi) N, at 3:31 pm PST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Covelo

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA, at 4:07 am PST on 28 December 2019 (12:07 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 36km NE of Covelo, CA

99 km (61 mi) WNW of Chico, CA

4:07 am PST, Dec 28, 2019 · 2019-12-28 12:07 UTC · 5.0 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Covelo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 4:07 am PST on 28 December 2019 (2019-12-28 12:07 UTC)
Where: 36 km (22 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
Magnitude: M 1.8 (md)
Depth: 5.0 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Tehama County, 61 km ENE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2501 days ago · we first saw it 2501 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 Covelo, 36 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 16 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.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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:

5.5 33 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · 29 km NE of this epicentre Mar 20, 1920

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA	61 km (38 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA	63 km (39 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Glenn County
Trinity County, CA	73 km (46 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Trinity County
Mendocino County, CA	77 km (48 mi)	SW	earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA	101 km (63 mi)	S	earthquakes near Lake County
Colusa County, CA	109 km (68 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Colusa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 12:24 UTC. 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.