QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Magalia, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Magalia in the 24 hours to 10:11 am PST (18:11 UTC). The last one was M 5.6, 150 km (93 mi) WSW, at 8:10 am PDT on 24 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 5,311 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Magalia

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) north of Magalia, CA, at 2:15 am PST on 18 February 2026 (10:15 UTC), 7.1 km deep.

USGS: 16 km S of Mineral, CA

56 km (35 mi) NNE of Chico, CA

2:15 am PST, Feb 18, 2026 · · 7.1 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tehama County 60 kmButte County 61 kmPlumas County 65 kmShasta County 75 kmLassen County 96 kmGlenn County 100 kmYuba County 106 kmSierra County 112 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
2:15 am PST on 18 February 2026 ()
Where
44 km (28 mi) north of Magalia, CA · earthquakes near Magalia
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
7.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tehama County, 60 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 259 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Magalia, 44 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Chester.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 5.5 on 2023-05-11 — about 320,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.7 2 km NNE of Canyondam, California · 41 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 15 km NE of Mineral, California · 27 km NNE 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 40.2102, -121.5370. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tehama County, CA 60 km (37 mi) W earthquakes near Tehama County
Butte County, CA 61 km (38 mi) S earthquakes near Butte County
Plumas County, CA 65 km (41 mi) ESE earthquakes near Plumas County
Shasta County, CA 75 km (46 mi) NW earthquakes near Shasta County
Lassen County, CA 96 km (59 mi) NE earthquakes near Lassen County
Glenn County, CA 100 km (62 mi) SW earthquakes near Glenn County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 2 km SW of Canyondam, CA
  2. 2.0 3 km NE of Prattville, CA
  3. 2.3 2 km N of Almanor, CA
  4. 2.1 3 km WSW of Canyondam, CA
  5. 1.9 3 km N of Canyondam, CA
  6. 1.8 17 km ENE of Mineral, CA
  7. 1.6 18 km ENE of Mineral, CA
  8. 1.7 17 km ENE of Mineral, CA
  9. 1.9 3 km WNW of Almanor, CA
  10. 1.6 2 km N of Almanor, CA
  11. 1.9 3 km N of Almanor, CA
  12. 1.8 13 km SW of Manton, CA
  13. 1.9 12 km NNE of Chester, CA
  14. 2.3 4 km NNW of Belden, CA
  15. 1.6 4 km SSE of Chester, 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.