QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Covelo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 4:43 am PST (12:43 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA, at 10:10 am PST on 22 February 2023 (18:10 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 40km NE of Covelo, CA

98 km (61 mi) WNW of Chico, CA

10:10 am PST, Feb 22, 2023 · · -0.9 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 59 kmGlenn County 65 kmTrinity County 70 kmMendocino County 81 kmLake County 104 kmShasta County 109 kmColusa County 112 kmHumboldt County 114 kmButte County 119 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
10:10 am PST on 22 February 2023 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
-0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 59 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1247 days ago

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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 40 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 4.1 on 2021-11-04 — about 470 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 33 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California · 25 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 40.0380, -122.9125. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 59 km (36 mi) E earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA 65 km (40 mi) SE earthquakes near Glenn County
Trinity County, CA 70 km (43 mi) NNW earthquakes near Trinity County
Mendocino County, CA 81 km (50 mi) SW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA 104 km (65 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Shasta County, CA 109 km (68 mi) NE earthquakes near Shasta County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 12 km SSE of Covelo, CA
  2. 2.0 39 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  3. 2.2 43 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  4. 2.0 14 km SSE of Hayfork, CA
  5. 1.5 14 km NE of Covelo, CA
  6. 1.7 15 km N of Covelo, CA
  7. 1.6 16 km N of Covelo, CA
  8. 2.1 29 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  9. 2.3 10 km W of Alder Springs, CA
  10. 2.0 15 km NW of Red Bluff, CA
  11. 2.0 37 km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  12. 3.0 26 km WSW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  13. 2.5 41 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  14. 2.4 41 km NNE of Covelo, CA
  15. 1.8 10 km WNW of Alder Springs, 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.