QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Death Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Death Valley in the 24 hours to 5:47 am PST (13:47 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 94 km (59 mi) WSW, at 12:59 am PDT on 23 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Death Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) north-northeast of Death Valley, CA, at 3:29 pm PDT on 22 July 2020 (22:29 UTC), 8.7 km deep.

USGS: 19 km ENE of Furnace Creek, CA

3:29 pm PDT, Jul 22, 2020 · · 8.7 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Death Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 68 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
3:29 pm PDT on 22 July 2020 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) north-northeast of Death Valley, CA · earthquakes near Death Valley
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 68 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Rock Valley fault, 13 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 1134 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Death Valley, 32 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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

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

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 47 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada · 39 km NE 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 36.4952, -116.6455. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 68 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 36 km ENE of Furnace Creek, California
  2. 1.6 39 km NNW of Pahrump, Nevada
  3. 2.1 36 km NNW of Shoshone, CA
  4. 1.6 45 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada
  5. 1.5 45 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada
  6. 1.9 47 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada
  7. 1.6 50 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada
  8. 1.7 52 km W of Indian Springs, Nevada
  9. 2.0 21 km NE of Furnace Creek, California
  10. 1.5 8 km W of Furnace Creek, California
  11. 1.5 California-Nevada border region
  12. 2.6 51 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada
  13. 1.6 California-Nevada border region
  14. 1.5 California-Nevada border region
  15. 1.5 47 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada

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.