QuakeIndex

Fault · California

West Walker River fault

16 kmlong (10 mi), as mapped
< 0.2 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
131quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move less than 0.2 mm a year — under 2 cm a century. Slow faults can still produce large earthquakes, just rarely.

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

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.0 in 2021 (Antelope Valley, CA) — about 32,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 15 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: 0–0.

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

San Andreas faultGreat Valley thrust fault systemWassuk Range faultSmith Valley faultTahoe-Sierra frontal faultWest Tahoe-Dollar Point faultAntelope Valley faultEast Carson Valley faultHuntoon Valley fault systemSilver Lake faultGenoa faultHartley Springs faultMono Lake faultRobinson Creek faultCarson City fault
The West Walker River fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 131 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 6.0 Antelope Valley, CA
    July 8, 2021 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  2. M 5.0 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
    July 8, 2021 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  3. M 4.6 29km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
    July 8, 2021 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  4. M 4.4 32km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
    July 9, 2021 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  5. M 4.3 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
    July 8, 2021 · epicentre 10 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 3 km W of Walker, CA
    2026-08-24 · 10 km from the trace
  2. M 2.6 16 km NW of Bridgeport, CA
    2025-06-13 · 8 km from the trace
  3. M 2.8 17 km NW of Bridgeport, CA
    2025-04-24 · 7 km from the trace
  4. M 2.8 17 km NW of Bridgeport, CA
    2025-04-09 · 7 km from the trace
  5. M 2.6 16 km SW of Walker, CA
    2024-08-20 · 10 km from the trace
  6. M 2.8 15 km SSW of Walker, CA
    2024-01-10 · 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.