Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mw
Earthquake near Redway, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Redway in the 24 hours to 3:30 am PST (11:30 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 153 km (95 mi) WNW, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Redway
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) north-northeast of Redway, CA, at 5:08 pm PST on 16 December 2024 (01:08 UTC), 29 km deep. 46 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 20 km NE of Redway, CA
- When
- 5:08 pm PST on 16 December 2024 ()
- Where
- 20 km (13 mi) north-northeast of Redway, CA · earthquakes near Redway
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mw)
- Depth
- 29 km below the surface
- Felt
- 46 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Humboldt County, 51 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bartlett Springs fault system, 20 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 118 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Redway, CA
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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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 96 km (60 mi) from the epicentre. In Redway, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Redway 20 km, intensity III · Rio Dell 41 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 9,400× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 18 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 38× more
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 5.3 on 2023-01-01 — about 89 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1992 Petrolia, California Earthquake · 44 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Rio Dell, California · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 30 km SSW of Scotia, California · 49 km W of this epicentre
- 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km ESE of Shelter Cove, California · 40 km SW 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 40.2820, -123.7107. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 51 km (31 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 65 km (40 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Glenn County, CA | 135 km (84 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 19 km SW of Hayfork, CA
- 1.5 10 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.6 10 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.6 10 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 3 km ESE of Fortuna, CA
- 1.6 13 km SSE of Petrolia, CA
- 2.2 14 km SSE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.8 35 km SSW of Willow Creek, CA
- 1.5 3 km WNW of Redway, CA
- 1.7 11 km SSE of Redway, CA
- 1.6 25 km ENE of Redway, CA
- 1.8 12 km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 2.6 17 km SSE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.7 14 km SSE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.5 31 km E of Redway, 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.