QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Airport Lake fault

34 kmlong (21 mi), as mapped
0.2–1 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
1,165quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 0.2 to 1 mm a year — 2 to 10 cm every century.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 5.5 in 2019 (15km ESE of Little Lake, CA) — about 5,600 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 2.7 kilotons of TNT.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–1.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultGarlock faultSouthern Sierra Nevada faultLenwood-Lockhart faultOwens Valley faultKern Canyon faultPanamint Valley faultBlack Mountains faultHarper faultBlackwater faultHunter Mountain- Saline Valley faultAsh Hill faultLittle Lake faultTowne Pass faultOwl Lake faultTank Canyon faultBreckenridge fault
The Airport Lake fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 400 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), . Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 5.5 15km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    July 6, 2019 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  2. M 5.4 20km E of Little Lake, CA
    July 6, 2019 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  3. M 5.0 19km E of Little Lake, CA
    July 6, 2019 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  4. M 4.9 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    July 6, 2019 · epicentre 5 km from the trace
  5. M 4.9 18km E of Little Lake, CA
    August 22, 2019 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  6. M 4.8 16km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    July 6, 2019 · epicentre 6 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.8 21 km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    2026-05-23 · 1 km from the trace
  2. M 3.1 21 km E of Little Lake, CA
    2025-12-17 · 6 km from the trace
  3. M 2.6 23 km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    2025-09-15 · 3 km from the trace
  4. M 2.5 21 km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    2025-02-27 · 2 km from the trace
  5. M 2.9 15 km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    2024-12-05 · 7 km from the trace
  6. M 2.6 20 km ESE of Little Lake, CA
    2024-05-19 · 0 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.