Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 7:02 am PST (15:02 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Searles Valley, CA, at 7:03 am PDT on 17 September 2018 (14:03 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 37km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- When
- 7:03 am PDT on 17 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 45 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Ash Hill fault, 16 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 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Searles Valley, CA
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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 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Searles Valley, 48 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 6.6 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 47 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 45 km S of this epicentre
- 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 13 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 15km NNE of Inyokern, CA · 48 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 16km N of Ridgecrest, California · 47 km S 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 36.1787, -117.5725. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 109 km (67 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 139 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
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 18km N of Olancha, CA
- 2.4 20km ENE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 43km SW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
- 1.6 21km ENE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.3 21km ENE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 13km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.9 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 13km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.4 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.3 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.6 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.2 12km SW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 28km ENE of Coso Junction, 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
- 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.