QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Covelo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Covelo in the 24 hours to 5:31 am PST (13:31 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) northwest of Covelo, CA, at 10:52 am PST on 14 February 2026 (18:52 UTC), 9.1 km deep.

USGS: 28 km NW of Covelo, CA

10:52 am PST, Feb 14, 2026 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mendocino County 59 kmTrinity County 82 kmHumboldt County 91 kmGlenn County 101 kmTehama County 108 kmLake County 114 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
10:52 am PST on 14 February 2026 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) northwest of Covelo, CA · earthquakes near Covelo
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mendocino County, 59 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Bartlett Springs fault system, 3 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 260 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Covelo, 28 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 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 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 4.3 on 2024-06-22 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 9 km S of Leggett, California · 29 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 7 km ESE of Shelter Cove, California · 44 km W 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 39.9633, -123.4862. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mendocino County, CA 59 km (37 mi) S earthquakes near Mendocino County
Trinity County, CA 82 km (51 mi) NNE earthquakes near Trinity County
Humboldt County, CA 91 km (56 mi) NNW earthquakes near Humboldt County
Glenn County, CA 101 km (63 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glenn County
Tehama County, CA 108 km (67 mi) E earthquakes near Tehama County
Lake County, CA 114 km (71 mi) SE earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 11 km SSE of Laytonville, CA
  2. 1.8 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  3. 1.6 4 km E of Covelo, CA
  4. 1.7 5 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  5. 1.7 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  6. 1.7 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  7. 1.8 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  8. 1.6 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  9. 2.3 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  10. 1.8 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  11. 3.2 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  12. 1.8 4 km ENE of Covelo, CA
  13. 1.6 4 km E of Covelo, CA
  14. 2.4 4 km E of Covelo, CA
  15. 2.7 4 km E of Covelo, 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.