QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

21km SW of Olancha, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 21km SW of Olancha, CA, at 2:54 pm PDT on 16 September 2020 (21:54 UTC), 4.3 km deep.

· 4.3 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tulare County 54 kmInyo County 83 kmKern County 103 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 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tulare County, 54 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 15 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 2246 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 9 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 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 5.8 on 2020-06-24 — about 2,700,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 49 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 28km E of Coso Junction, California · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 32 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 38 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 13km SE of Little Lake, CA · 48 km SE 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 36.1610, -118.1818. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tulare County, CA 54 km (34 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 83 km (51 mi) ENE earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 103 km (64 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 19km NNE of Olancha, CA
  2. 1.7 10km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
  3. 1.5 10km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  4. 1.6 17km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  5. 1.5 17km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  6. 1.5 4km NNE of Little Lake, CA
  7. 1.5 8km NW of Olancha, CA
  8. 1.6 18km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  9. 1.8 13km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  10. 1.7 16km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  11. 2.9 18km NNE of Olancha, CA
  12. 1.9 18km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  13. 2.2 18km NNE of Olancha, CA
  14. 1.5 10km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
  15. 2.1 5km NNE of Little Lake, 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.