Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 3:32 pm PST (23:32 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) NNE, at 10:07 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Pine
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Big Pine, CA, at 12:30 am PST on 28 February 2020 (08:30 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 29km ESE of Big Pine, CA
- When
- 12:30 am PST on 28 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 78 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Deep Springs fault, 14 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 2449 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Big 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 29 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 4.8 on 2016-02-16 — about 8,800 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 19 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 4 km SSW of Bishop, California · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km N of Independence, California · 30 km SW 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 37.0943, -117.9717. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 82 km (51 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Tulare County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Mono County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
22 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 9km NE of Wilkerson, CA
- 2.4 3km ESE of Bishop, CA
- 2.1 12km SE of Independence, CA
- 1.6 12 km SW of Big Pine, California
- 1.8 22 km NNE of Independence, California
- 1.6 51 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 3.5 10km NNW of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.8 1km ENE of Bishop, CA
- 2.2 18km S of Big Pine, CA
- 2.4 19km S of Big Pine, CA
- 1.9 18km S of Big Pine, CA
- 2.3 4km SSE of Bishop, CA
- 1.6 5km SE of Bishop, CA
- 1.6 5km SE of Bishop, CA
- 2.3 5km SE of Bishop, 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.