Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Redway, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Redway in the 24 hours to 7:16 pm PST (03:16 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 153 km (95 mi) WNW, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Redway
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northwest of Redway, CA, at 5:47 am PST on 17 January 2020 (13:47 UTC), 23 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km NW of Redway, CA
- When
- 5:47 am PST on 17 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) northwest of Redway, CA · earthquakes near Redway
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 23 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Humboldt County, 63 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 21 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2408 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Redway, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Redway, 3 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: Redway 3 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more
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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.6 on 2019-06-23 — about 5,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 31 km NW of Shelter Cove, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 30 km SSW of Scotia, California · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 41 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 29 km W of Shelter Cove, California · 49 km W 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 40.1412, -123.8435. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | N | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Lake County, CA | 148 km (92 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 36km SSW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.6 31km WSW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.7 11km E of Rockport, CA
- 1.5 15km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 2.0 20km SSE of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.6 22km ESE of Hydesville, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.9 6km WNW of Redway, CA
- 2.1 12km WSW of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.8 10km N of Petrolia, CA
- 1.7 7km NE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.8 12km SSE of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.5 10km SSW of Rio Dell, CA
- 2.1 21km ESE of Hydesville, CA
- 1.8 15km N of Laytonville, 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
- 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.