QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Shasta, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Shasta in the 24 hours to 3:16 am PST (11:16 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) SE, at 4:06 pm PDT on 4 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Shasta

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-northeast of Shasta, CA, at 11:38 am PST on 14 November 2020 (19:38 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 6km ENE of Shasta, CA

7 km (4 mi) NW of Redding, CA · 108 km (67 mi) NNW of Chico, CA

11:38 am PST, Nov 14, 2020 · · 20 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Shasta County 36 kmTehama County 57 kmTrinity County 58 kmSiskiyou County 109 kmGlenn County 112 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
11:38 am PST on 14 November 2020 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) east-northeast of Shasta, CA · earthquakes near Shasta
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Shasta County, 36 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2189 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 Shasta, 5 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: Redding, Shasta Lake, Bella Vista, Palo Cedro, Anderson.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 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 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 · 2 km NE 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 40.6133, -122.4300. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Shasta County, CA 36 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Shasta County
Tehama County, CA 57 km (35 mi) SSE earthquakes near Tehama County
Trinity County, CA 58 km (36 mi) W earthquakes near Trinity County
Siskiyou County, CA 109 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Glenn County, CA 112 km (70 mi) S earthquakes near Glenn County
Butte County, CA 127 km (79 mi) SE earthquakes near Butte County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 4km ENE of Shasta, CA
  2. 2.5 4km ENE of Shasta, CA
  3. 1.8 4km E of Shasta, CA
  4. 1.7 4km NW of Bella Vista, CA
  5. 2.1 2km NW of Bella Vista, CA
  6. 1.5 6km NNE of Millville, CA
  7. 1.7 2km SW of Palo Cedro, CA
  8. 2.1 0km S of Palo Cedro, CA
  9. 1.6 4km W of Shasta Lake, CA
  10. 1.5 1km NW of Palo Cedro, CA
  11. 1.6 3km WSW of Shasta Lake, CA
  12. 1.5 1km NW of Palo Cedro, CA
  13. 1.6 1km SW of Palo Cedro, CA
  14. 1.7 2km WSW of Palo Cedro, CA
  15. 1.6 2km W of Palo Cedro, 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.