QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.3mw

Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 7:40 am PST (15:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 21 km (13 mi) N, at 11:15 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Searles Valley

This page: a magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south of Searles Valley, CA, at 9:15 pm PDT on 7 June 2020 (04:15 UTC), 3.6 km deep. 310 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14km S of Searles Valley, CA

9:15 pm PDT, Jun 7, 2020 · · 3.6 km deep · released about 41 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Searles Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo 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
9:15 pm PDT on 7 June 2020 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
Magnitude
M 4.3 (mw)
Depth
3.6 km below the surface
Felt
310 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Measured shaking
intensity VI (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
Inyo County, 103 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Garlock 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 2277 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 120 km (75 mi) from the epicentre. In Searles Valley, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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.

Likely felt in: Searles Valley 14 km, intensity IV · Ridgecrest 23 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 41 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 4,100× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.3 about 41 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 86× more

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 16,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 48 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 24 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 37 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 27 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 35.6377, -117.4175. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 103 km (64 mi) N earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 123 km (76 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kern County
San Bernardino County, CA 142 km (88 mi) SE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 18km S of Trona, CA
  2. 1.7 14km S of Searles Valley, CA
  3. 1.8 14km S of Searles Valley, CA
  4. 1.6 19km E of Ridgecrest, CA
  5. 1.9 12km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  6. 1.9 15km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  7. 1.6 32km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  8. 2.0 17km S of Trona, CA
  9. 1.9 22km N of Trona, CA
  10. 1.8 16km SSW of Trona, CA
  11. 2.3 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  12. 1.6 20km NNE of Ridgecrest, CA
  13. 1.6 14km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  14. 2.4 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  15. 2.0 18km S of Trona, 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.