QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 7:40 am PST (15:40 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Searles Valley, CA, at 2:17 am PST on 27 January 2021 (10:17 UTC), 2.3 km deep.

USGS: 24km NNE of Trona, CA

2:17 am PST, Jan 27, 2021 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Searles Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 66 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
2:17 am PST on 27 January 2021 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 66 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Ash Hill fault, 5 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 2115 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Searles Valley, 24 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 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 7.1 on 2019-07-06 — about 220,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Death Valley area, California · 29 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 Death Valley area, California · 29 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 37 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 38 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 31 km WNW 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 35.9752, -117.3250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 66 km (41 mi) N earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 24km NNE of Trona, CA
  2. 1.8 19km E of Little Lake, CA
  3. 1.6 27km N of Searles Valley, CA
  4. 1.8 17km S of Searles Valley, CA
  5. 1.6 18km S of Trona, CA
  6. 1.9 21km E of Little Lake, CA
  7. 1.6 13km N of Trona, CA
  8. 2.3 22km S of Trona, CA
  9. 1.7 18km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  10. 2.0 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  11. 2.8 14km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  12. 1.7 14km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  13. 1.6 25km NNE of Trona, CA
  14. 3.0 24km NNE of Trona, CA
  15. 1.6 12km SW of Searles Valley, 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.