QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

43km SW of Stovepipe Wells, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 43km SW of Stovepipe Wells, CA, at 7:37 am PST on 5 December 2018 (15:37 UTC), 3.6 km deep.

· 3.6 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 26 kmTulare 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 1.7 (ml)
Depth
3.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 26 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Ash Hill fault, 8 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 2899 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 12 km (7 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 32 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 28km E of Coso Junction, California · 33 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 49 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 33 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 30km E of Coso Junction, California · 31 km SSW 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 36.3370, -117.4958. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 26 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 116 km (72 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 157 km (97 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. 3.2 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 1.5 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  3. 1.5 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  4. 2.3 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  5. 2.1 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  6. 1.5 10km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
  7. 1.6 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  8. 1.6 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  9. 2.0 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  10. 2.1 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  11. 1.7 8km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  12. 1.9 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  13. 1.6 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  14. 1.9 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  15. 2.7 24km E 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.