QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near China Lake Acres, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in China Lake Acres in the 24 hours to 12:08 pm PST (20:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 37 km (23 mi) S, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near China Lake Acres

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north-northwest of China Lake Acres, CA, at 12:25 pm PDT on 20 May 2020 (19:25 UTC), 2.6 km deep.

USGS: 6km E of Coso Junction, CA

12:25 pm PDT, May 20, 2020 · · 2.6 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near China Lake Acres Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 71 kmTulare County 83 kmKern County 110 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
12:25 pm PDT on 20 May 2020 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) north-northwest of China Lake Acres, CA · earthquakes near China Lake Acres
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 71 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 9 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 2367 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In China Lake Acres, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 6.8 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 2,200,000× 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 6.8 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 7.1 on 2019-07-06 — about 200,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 39 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 39 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 37 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 42 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 37 km SSE 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 36.0523, -117.8828. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 71 km (44 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 83 km (52 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 110 km (68 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 11km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 2.1 15km E of Little Lake, CA
  3. 1.5 22km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  4. 1.6 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  5. 2.0 11km N of Coso Junction, CA
  6. 1.9 22km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  7. 1.8 15km W of Searles Valley, CA
  8. 1.7 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  9. 2.0 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  10. 1.5 34km N of Searles Valley, CA
  11. 1.9 21km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  12. 1.5 11km ESE of Coso Junction, CA
  13. 1.8 7km WNW of Searles Valley, CA
  14. 1.5 17km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  15. 1.6 15km ESE 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.