Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Covelo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 10:44 am PST (18:44 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Covelo, CA, at 5:44 am PST on 5 December 2020 (13:44 UTC), 4.6 km deep.
USGS: 8km WSW of Covelo, CA
- When
- 5:44 am PST on 5 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 4.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mendocino County, 37 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 4 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 2157 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 10 km (6 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 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 12,000 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 · 35 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 39.7553, -123.3292. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Glenn County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
| Lake County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Trinity County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | N | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Tehama County, CA | 102 km (64 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Colusa County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Colusa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 8km NNW of Redwood Valley, CA
- 1.5 12km N of Brooktrails, CA
- 1.8 2km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
- 1.6 26km N of Laytonville, CA
- 1.5 10km ESE of Willits, CA
- 2.1 11km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 7km E of Willits, CA
- 1.6 10km SE of Laytonville, CA
- 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
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.