QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Lone Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lone Pine in the 24 hours to 7:40 am PST (15:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) SE, at 9:24 pm PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lone Pine

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south of Lone Pine, CA, at 5:06 am PST on 3 February 2021 (13:06 UTC), 2.3 km deep.

USGS: 12km SW of Olancha, CA

5:06 am PST, Feb 3, 2021 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tulare County 62 kmInyo County 73 kmKern County 111 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
5:06 am PST on 3 February 2021 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) south of Lone Pine, CA · earthquakes near Lone Pine
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tulare County, 62 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 6 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 2108 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Lone Pine, 45 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 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 42 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 28km E of Coso Junction, California · 43 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 28 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 30 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 13km SE of Little Lake, CA · 46 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 36.1988, -118.0885. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tulare County, CA 62 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 73 km (46 mi) ENE earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 111 km (69 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 18km ESE of Olancha, CA
  2. 1.9 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
  3. 2.9 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
  4. 2.8 7km ESE of Lone Pine, CA
  5. 2.3 7km ESE of Lone Pine, CA
  6. 1.5 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  7. 2.4 21km SW of Olancha, CA
  8. 1.9 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
  9. 1.8 14km SSW of Olancha, CA
  10. 1.8 19km E of Little Lake, CA
  11. 2.1 16km SSW of Olancha, CA
  12. 1.8 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  13. 1.6 6km ESE of Lone Pine, CA
  14. 1.7 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  15. 1.8 15km SSW of Olancha, 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.