Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
52km NW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 52km NW of Stovepipe Wells, CA, at 10:39 am PST on 12 December 2018 (18:39 UTC), 2.3 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 47 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Northern Death Valley 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 2892 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lone Pine, 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 13 km (8 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 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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:
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 32 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 36.9803, -117.4950. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | S | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 90 km (56 mi) | N | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Tulare County, CA | 142 km (88 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Nye County, NV | 143 km (89 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Nye 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.
- 1.5 62 km W of Beatty, Nevada
- 1.9 49 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
- 1.7 51 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
- 1.9 54km E of Big Pine, CA
- 1.9 55km E of Big Pine, CA
- 1.5 41 km NE of Independence, California
- 1.6 50 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
- 1.5 57km NNW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
- 2.1 61 km WNW of Beatty, Nevada
- 2.0 60 km S of Goldfield, Nevada
- 1.5 39 km NNE of Keeler, California
- 1.5 47km NNW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
- 1.7 49 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
- 3.3 50 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
- 1.9 49 km SSW of Goldfield, 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
- 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.