Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near Three Rivers, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Three Rivers in the 24 hours to 8:12 am PST (16:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.5, 131 km (81 mi) NE, at 7:37 pm PDT on 28 June 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 139 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Three Rivers
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) east of Three Rivers, CA, at 6:13 pm PST on 31 January 2020 (02:13 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 37km E of Three Rivers, CA
- When
- 6:13 pm PST on 31 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) east of Three Rivers, CA · earthquakes near Three Rivers
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 36 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 7 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2477 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Three Rivers, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Three Rivers, CA. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Three Rivers, 37 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 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 80,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 57,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 36.4518, -118.4872. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | E | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Kings County, CA | 126 km (79 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Madera County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Madera County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 12km SE of Independence, CA
- 1.5 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.9 3 km N of Lone Pine, California
- 1.7 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 2.6 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.7 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 2.1 17km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 2.0 17km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 2.9 17km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.7 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.6 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 2.6 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 3.0 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.7 16km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.6 16km SSE of Lone Pine, 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.