QuakeIndex

Fault · California, Nevada

Fish Lake Valley fault

99 kmlong (62 mi), as mapped
> 5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
45quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides grind past each other faster than 5 mm a year — more than half a metre (20 inches) every century.

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.1 in 1910 (Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada) — about 45,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 21 kilotons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 4 sections: Cucomongo section, Leidy Creek section, Oasis section, Wildhorse Creek section.

This week vs. its last ten years

99/100

unusual

3 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 99% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–0.

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

San Andreas faultSouthern Sierra Nevada faultOwens Valley faultWassuk Range faultWhite Mountains faultNorthern Death Valley faultCrescent Dunes faultHuntoon Valley fault systemLone Mountain faultEmigrant Peak faultRound Valley faultHilton Creek faultLong Valley faultDeep Springs faultFish Slough faultMcAfee Canyon fault M 6.1 · 1910 · Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada
The Fish Lake Valley fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 45 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). 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 6.1 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada
    November 21, 1910 · epicentre 17 km from the trace
  2. M 4.8 8km ESE of Deep Springs, CA
    January 6, 2022 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  3. M 4.5 8 km SSE of Deep Springs, CA
    June 29, 2025 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  4. M 4.3 64km ENE of Big Pine, CA
    May 21, 2023 · epicentre 5 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 2.7 17 km ENE of Deep Springs, CA
    2026-04-11 · 6 km from the trace
  2. M 3.6 7 km SE of Deep Springs, CA
    2026-01-07 · 8 km from the trace
  3. M 2.7 8 km SE of Deep Springs, CA
    2025-07-05 · 8 km from the trace
  4. M 3.9 8 km SE of Deep Springs, CA
    2025-06-29 · 8 km from the trace
  5. M 4.5 8 km SSE of Deep Springs, CA
    2025-06-29 · 9 km from the trace
  6. M 2.7 27 km N of Dyer, Nevada
    2024-12-29 · 8 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.