QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Clearlake Oaks, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Clearlake Oaks in the 24 hours to 5:06 am PST (13:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 19 km (12 mi) SE, at 1:02 pm PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Clearlake Oaks

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) east-northeast of Clearlake Oaks, CA, at 6:26 am PST on 18 December 2022 (14:26 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: 19km ENE of Clearlake Oaks, CA

6:26 am PST, Dec 18, 2022 · · 22 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Colusa County 22 kmLake County 25 kmGlenn County 58 kmNapa County 65 kmSutter County 65 kmYolo County 66 kmSonoma County 74 kmMendocino County 93 kmButte County 98 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
6:26 am PST on 18 December 2022 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) east-northeast of Clearlake Oaks, CA · earthquakes near Clearlake Oaks
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Colusa County, 22 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Bartlett Springs fault system, 7 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 1415 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 Clearlake Oaks, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Clearlake, Lower Lake, Clear Lake Riviera, Williams, Soda Bay.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 5.1 on 2016-08-10 — about 170,000 times the energy of this one.

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 39.0797, -122.4595. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Colusa County, CA 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Colusa County
Lake County, CA 25 km (15 mi) W earthquakes near Lake County
Glenn County, CA 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Glenn County
Napa County, CA 65 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Napa County
Sutter County, CA 65 km (41 mi) E earthquakes near Sutter County
Yolo County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SE earthquakes near Yolo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 3km WSW of Anderson Springs, CA
  2. 2.1 6km WNW of Cobb, CA
  3. 2.0 10km WNW of The Geysers, CA
  4. 1.7 2km NW of The Geysers, CA
  5. 1.8 2km NW of The Geysers, CA
  6. 1.5 4km NW of The Geysers, CA
  7. 1.8 7km NW of The Geysers, CA
  8. 1.8 8km NW of The Geysers, CA
  9. 1.5 2km W of Anderson Springs, CA
  10. 2.6 3km W of Cobb, CA
  11. 1.7 6km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  12. 1.6 2km N of The Geysers, CA
  13. 1.6 2km SW of Cobb, CA
  14. 2.7 1km NNW of The Geysers, CA
  15. 1.7 10km WNW of The Geysers, 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.