Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Rio Dell, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Rio Dell in the 24 hours to 6:24 am PST (14:24 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 126 km (78 mi) W, at 8:56 pm PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 145 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rio Dell
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Rio Dell, CA, at 2:08 am PDT on 29 July 2026 (09:08 UTC), 25 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 34 km NE of Redway, CA
- When
- 2:08 am PDT on 29 July 2026 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Rio Dell, CA · earthquakes near Rio Dell
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 25 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Humboldt County, 46 km NW
- 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 93 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Rio Dell, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Rio Dell, 45 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 37 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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 5.3 on 2023-01-01 — about 86,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 15 km SW of Burnt Ranch, California · 38 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 18 km SSW of Scotia, California · 49 km W of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km E of Rio Dell, California · 43 km WNW 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 40.3742, -123.5967. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Trinity County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Trinity County |
| Mendocino County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mendocino County |
| Tehama County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Tehama County |
| Glenn County, CA | 133 km (83 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Glenn County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 19 km SSE of Blue Lake, CA
- 1.8 31 km NW of Covelo, CA
- 1.7 16 km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 1.5 15 km SE of Petrolia, CA
- 2.3 30 km NNW of Covelo, CA
- 1.3 35 km NE of Redway, CA
- 3.0 23 km NE of Hydesville, CA
- 1.9 3 km SE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 30 km NW of Covelo, CA
- 2.8 5 km NE of Hydesville, CA
- 1.1 39 km E of Hydesville, CA
- 2.2 32 km NE of Redway, CA
- 1.7 10 km SE of Rio Dell, CA
- 1.7 16 km NNW of Redway, CA
- 1.4 13 km SSE 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.