QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Gerber, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Gerber in the 24 hours to 5:24 am PST (13:24 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 92 km (57 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 Gerber

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Gerber, CA, at 2:26 pm PDT on 9 March 2020 (21:26 UTC), 32 km deep.

USGS: 6km NNE of Gerber, CA

47 km (29 mi) NW of Chico, CA

2:26 pm PDT, Mar 9, 2020 · · 32 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 9 kmGlenn County 61 kmButte County 66 kmShasta County 73 kmTrinity County 103 kmColusa County 104 kmPlumas County 112 kmYuba County 115 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
2:26 pm PDT on 9 March 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Gerber, CA · earthquakes near Gerber
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
32 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 9 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2438 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 Gerber, 6 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: Los Molinos, Red Bluff, Corning, Rancho Tehama Reserve.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
  4. 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 40.1068, -122.1267. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 9 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Glenn County
Butte County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SE earthquakes near Butte County
Shasta County, CA 73 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Shasta County
Trinity County, CA 103 km (64 mi) NW earthquakes near Trinity County
Colusa County, CA 104 km (64 mi) S earthquakes near Colusa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 5km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  2. 1.8 4km NNE of Hamilton City, CA
  3. 1.6 15km SSW of Mineral, CA
  4. 1.6 15km SSW of Mineral, CA
  5. 2.1 6km N of Hamilton City, CA
  6. 2.0 18km ESE of Anderson, CA
  7. 1.9 20km NE of Red Bluff, CA
  8. 1.9 13km W of Shingletown, CA
  9. 2.7 2km NNW of Chico, CA
  10. 2.2 19km WSW of Manton, CA
  11. 1.8 9km ESE of Millville, CA
  12. 1.9 21km SE of Anderson, CA
  13. 1.7 30km NNW of Forest Ranch, CA
  14. 1.8 4km SSE of Hamilton City, CA
  15. 1.5 12km W of Shingletown, 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.