QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Covelo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 3:12 am PST (11:12 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA, at 4:16 pm PST on 20 January 2025 (00:16 UTC), 1.9 km deep.

USGS: 33 km ENE of Covelo, CA

4:16 pm PST, Jan 20, 2025 · · 1.9 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 64 kmGlenn County 64 kmTrinity County 74 kmMendocino County 75 kmLake County 100 kmColusa County 110 kmHumboldt County 114 kmShasta County 115 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
4:16 pm PST on 20 January 2025 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) northeast of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
1.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 64 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 652 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 33 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 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 2,100 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 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 39.9935, -122.9592. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 64 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Tehama County
Glenn County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SE earthquakes near Glenn County
Trinity County, CA 74 km (46 mi) N earthquakes near Trinity County
Mendocino County, CA 75 km (47 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mendocino County
Lake County, CA 100 km (62 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Colusa County, CA 110 km (68 mi) SE earthquakes near Colusa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 39 km NE of Covelo, CA
  2. 1.7 20 km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  3. 2.1 16 km SW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA
  4. 1.8 16 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  5. 2.0 31 km of Alder Springs, CA
  6. 1.6 13 km NNW of Alder Springs, CA
  7. 1.8 10 km ESE of Alder Springs, CA
  8. 2.4 43 km NE of Covelo, CA
  9. 2.0 31 km N of Alder Springs, CA
  10. 1.8 21 km NW of Alder Springs, CA
  11. 1.8 5 km SW of Alder Springs, CA
  12. 1.7 5 km SW of Alder Springs, CA
  13. 2.2 23 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  14. 1.7 16 km N of Lake Pillsbury, CA
  15. 1.7 10 km W 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.