Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 3:16 am PST (11:16 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) NNE, at 10:07 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Pine
This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 36 km (23 mi) east-southeast of Big Pine, CA, at 1:25 pm PDT on 18 April 2016 (20:25 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 36km ESE of Big Pine, CA
- When
- 1:25 pm PDT on 18 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 36 km (23 mi) east-southeast of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 72 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Deep Springs fault, 21 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 1611 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Big Pine, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Big Pine, CA. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 38 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 36 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.
Likely felt in: Big Pine 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 320,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 4.8 on 2016-02-16 — about 410 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 14 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km N of Independence, California · 34 km SW 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 37.0793, -117.8942. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 81 km (50 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Tulare County, CA | 123 km (77 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Mono County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 19km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.6 7 km E of Wilkerson, California
- 1.5 19 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
- 1.8 41 km NE of Independence, California
- 2.2 61 km WNW of Beatty, Nevada
- 2.0 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 2.5 25 km E of Bishop, California
- 1.6 57 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 1.7 19km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.6 66km NNW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
- 2.0 12 km SE of Independence, California
- 1.6 19km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
- 2.1 20km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.9 20 km S of Dyer, Nevada
- 1.6 California-Nevada border region
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.