QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5mw

Earthquake near Lone Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lone Pine in the 24 hours to 3:02 am PST (11:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) SE, at 9:24 pm PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lone Pine

This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) southeast of Lone Pine, CA, at 8:39 pm PDT on 17 August 2016 (03:39 UTC), 1.7 km deep. 20 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18km NE of Olancha, CA

8:39 pm PDT, Aug 17, 2016 · · 1.7 km deep · released about 3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Lone Pine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 45 kmTulare County 84 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
8:39 pm PDT on 17 August 2016 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) southeast of Lone Pine, CA · earthquakes near Lone Pine
Magnitude
M 3.5 (mw)
Depth
1.7 km below the surface
Felt
20 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity VI (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Inyo County, 45 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Owens Valley fault, under 1 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 2808 days ago

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 65 km (40 mi) from the epicentre. In Lone Pine, 29 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: Lone Pine 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 57,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 6.2× more

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 41 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 28km E of Coso Junction, California · 42 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 43 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 1 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 30km E of Coso Junction, California · 42 km SSE 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 36.3993, -117.8653. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 45 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 84 km (52 mi) WSW earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 141 km (87 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 27km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 1.6 5km N of Little Lake, CA
  3. 1.6 10km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  4. 2.6 10km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  5. 2.2 20km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
  6. 2.7 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
  7. 2.2 29km E of Coso Junction, CA
  8. 2.0 12 km SE of Independence, California
  9. 1.6 19km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
  10. 1.7 13km ESE of Coso Junction, CA
  11. 2.1 20km ENE of Lone Pine, CA
  12. 2.5 6km NW of Olancha, CA
  13. 1.5 11km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  14. 1.6 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
  15. 1.5 16km NE of Little Lake, 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.