QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Hayfork, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hayfork in the 24 hours to 9:51 pm PST (05:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 42 km (26 mi) W, at 2:44 pm PDT on 7 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 15 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hayfork

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) south-southeast of Hayfork, CA, at 10:17 pm PDT on 7 May 2023 (05:17 UTC), 40 km deep.

USGS: 41km NNE of Covelo, CA

10:17 pm PDT, May 7, 2023 · · 40 km deep · released about 490 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Trinity County 57 kmTehama County 71 kmGlenn County 82 kmMendocino County 84 kmHumboldt County 96 kmShasta County 112 kmLake County 117 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
10:17 pm PDT on 7 May 2023 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) south-southeast of Hayfork, CA · earthquakes near Hayfork
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
40 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Trinity County, 57 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1209 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hayfork, 48 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 490 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 31,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 490 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 4.5 on 2016-08-28 — about 330 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 · 31 km ENE 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 40.1328, -123.0718. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Trinity County, CA 57 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Trinity County
Tehama County, CA 71 km (44 mi) E earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA 82 km (51 mi) SE earthquakes near Glenn County
Mendocino County, CA 84 km (52 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Humboldt County, CA 96 km (60 mi) NW earthquakes near Humboldt County
Shasta County, CA 112 km (69 mi) NE earthquakes near Shasta County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 29 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  2. 2.0 37 km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  3. 3.0 26 km WSW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  4. 2.5 41 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  5. 2.4 41 km NNE of Covelo, CA
  6. 2.1 17 km NNE of Laytonville, CA
  7. 2.2 35 km WSW of Hayfork, CA
  8. 3.0 14 km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  9. 1.9 27 km WSW of Hayfork, CA
  10. 2.6 32 km WSW of Hayfork, CA
  11. 2.8 10 km W of Hayfork, CA
  12. 1.6 17 km N of Laytonville, CA
  13. 1.9 25 km WSW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  14. 1.6 16 km N of Covelo, CA
  15. 2.0 38 km NNW 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.