QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 11:21 am PST (19:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 21 km (13 mi) N, at 11:15 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Searles Valley

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) east-northeast of Searles Valley, CA, at 2:08 pm PST on 4 February 2018 (22:08 UTC), 3.2 km deep.

USGS: 42km ENE of Trona, CA

2:08 pm PST, Feb 4, 2018 · · 3.2 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Searles Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 86 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:08 pm PST on 4 February 2018 ()
Where
43 km (27 mi) east-northeast of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
3.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 86 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Panamint Valley fault, 20 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 3201 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Searles Valley, 43 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 4.1 on 2017-08-22 — about 900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 Death Valley area, California · 13 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 Death Valley area, California · 13 km NNW 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 35.8878, -116.9448. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 86 km (53 mi) NNW earthquakes near Inyo County
San Bernardino County, CA 134 km (83 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

36 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.6 9km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  2. 2.3 40km ESE of Trona, CA
  3. 2.0 31km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  4. 1.6 40km NE of Trona, CA
  5. 2.1 36km W of Tecopa, CA
  6. 1.7 27km N of Searles Valley, CA
  7. 1.8 31km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  8. 1.6 40km NE of Trona, CA
  9. 1.6 30km SW of Tecopa, CA
  10. 2.3 29km SW of Tecopa, CA
  11. 2.3 37km NNW of Fort Irwin, CA
  12. 2.0 37km NNW of Fort Irwin, CA
  13. 1.6 37km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  14. 2.2 34km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  15. 1.5 49km WSW of Shoshone, CA

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.