QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

37km WSW of Tecopa, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 37km WSW of Tecopa, CA, at 1:27 pm PST on 7 March 2019 (21:27 UTC), 2.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 2.9 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 105 kmInyo County 116 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
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.9 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 105 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Death Valley fault, 4 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 2807 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. 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2018-12-05 — about 9,100 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 · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 Death Valley area, California · 45 km NW 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 35.7355, -116.6148. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 105 km (65 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Inyo County, CA 116 km (72 mi) NW earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 40km ENE of Trona, CA
  2. 2.0 40km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  3. 2.7 33km SW of Tecopa, CA
  4. 2.7 25km ENE of Trona, CA
  5. 1.6 16km N of Fort Irwin, CA
  6. 2.5 37km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  7. 2.2 10km NW of Fort Irwin, CA
  8. 1.6 30 km N of Fort Irwin, California
  9. 1.5 31 km ENE of Searles Valley, California
  10. 1.8 17 km WSW of Tecopa, California
  11. 1.5 37km NNW of Fort Irwin, CA
  12. 1.8 42km WSW of Tecopa, CA
  13. 2.6 38km NE of Trona, CA
  14. 2.4 38km NE of Trona, CA
  15. 3.1 39km NE of Trona, 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.