Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Covelo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 1:26 am PST (09:26 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Covelo, CA, at 6:34 am PST on 20 November 2020 (14:34 UTC), 9.5 km deep.
USGS: 8km WSW of Covelo, CA
- When
- 6:34 am PST on 20 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 9.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 39 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 3 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 2180 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Covelo, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Covelo, CA. No account or email needed.
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 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 8 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: Covelo 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2019-04-29 — about 8,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 34 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 39.7780, -123.3397. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 39 km (25 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Glenn County, CA | 83 km (51 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Lake County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Trinity County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | N | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Tehama County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Humboldt County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Humboldt 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.
- 2.4 10km SE of Willits, CA
- 2.0 13km WNW of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 2.7 13km W of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 1.9 10km ESE of Willits, CA
- 1.8 10km ESE of Willits, CA
- 1.8 22km SE of Covelo, CA
- 1.9 10km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
- 2.2 42km NE of Covelo, CA
- 1.8 10km ESE of Willits, CA
- 2.6 11km ESE of Willits, CA
- 1.9 9km NNE of Brooktrails, CA
- 2.0 13km W of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 2.3 17km NNW of Laytonville, CA
- 1.6 5km ENE of Laytonville, CA
- 2.5 14km NNW of Brooktrails, 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.