The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 9 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Cottonwood, the biggest of them M2.3. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Cottonwood came at 1.8× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Cottonwood — records go back to 1980 — was the M5.1 of Nov 26, 1998, 19:49 UTC: 7km NW of Redding, CA.
How we figure this: 7 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 3.8 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Cottonwood, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Cottonwood are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Cottonwood
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2.1 | 13 km SE of Millville, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 08:46 AM | 20 km | 20 km ENE |
| M1.7 | 13 km SW of Chester, CA | Oct 29, 2026, 03:15 AM | 0 km | 82 km ESE |
| M1.9 | 7 km SW of Dunsmuir, CA | Oct 19, 2026, 05:17 PM | 10 km | 86 km N |
| M2.0 | 14 km ESE of Anderson, CA | Oct 16, 2026, 06:53 AM | 16 km | 11 km E |
| M1.8 | 9 km N of Covelo, CA | Oct 15, 2026, 08:37 PM | 10 km | 99 km SW |
| M2.3 | 9 km N of Belden, CA | Oct 13, 2026, 06:11 AM | 10 km | 92 km ESE |
| M2.1 | 15 km ESE of Anderson, CA | Oct 08, 2026, 09:50 PM | 15 km | 13 km E |
| M1.9 | 11 km WSW of Manton, CA | Oct 06, 2026, 12:28 AM | 10 km | 25 km E |
| M2.2 | 5 km WSW of Redding, CA | Oct 04, 2026, 04:06 PM | 16 km | 23 km NNW |
| M2.1 | 4 km NNE of Almanor, CA | Oct 04, 2026, 11:51 AM | 6 km | 97 km E |
Earthquakes per year near Cottonwood (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Cottonwood
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 242 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Cottonwood (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5.1 | 7km NW of Redding, CA | Nov 26, 1998, 19:49 UTC | 29 km |
| M5.0 | 12 km NE of Burney, CA | Sep 08, 2023, 17:24 UTC | 88 km |
| M4.7 | 31 km NW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California | Jan 19, 2008, 23:13 UTC | 43 km |
| M4.6 | 5km NNW of Redding, CA | Nov 26, 1998, 22:58 UTC | 28 km |
| M4.5 | 34 km WNW of Rancho Tehama Reserve, California | Jan 19, 2008, 17:18 UTC | 47 km |
| M4.5 | 4 km NNW of Redding, California | Jul 21, 1998, 08:38 UTC | 29 km |
| M4.5 | 8 km ESE of Mad River, California | Aug 28, 2016, 21:20 UTC | 96 km |
| M4.4 | 10 km NW of Burney, California | May 10, 2005, 20:21 UTC | 76 km |
Nearby places
Anderson, CA (7 km) · Palo Cedro, CA (20 km) · Red Bluff, CA (23 km) · Redding, CA (24 km) · Shasta Lake, CA (34 km) · Central Valley (historical), CA (34 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 21:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 21:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.