Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mw
Earthquake near Lone Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lone Pine in the 24 hours to 8:35 am PST (16:35 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 4.0 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Lone Pine, CA, at 3:57 pm PST on 12 February 2021 (23:57 UTC), 3.1 km deep. 61 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km SE of Olancha, CA
- When
- 3:57 pm PST on 12 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Lone Pine, CA · earthquakes near Lone Pine
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mw)
- Depth
- 3.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 61 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 60 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 12 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 2029 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lone Pine, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lone Pine, 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 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 99 km (62 mi) from the epicentre. In Lone Pine, 45 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Lone Pine 45 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 10,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 17 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 35× 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 5.8 on 2020-06-24 — about 450 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 30 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 28km E of Coso Junction, California · 31 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 23 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 20 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.1 13km SE of Little Lake, CA · 41 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 36.2183, -117.9267. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 60 km (38 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 7km ESE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.9 14km ESE of Olancha, CA
- 2.3 6km ESE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.6 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.7 20km E of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 18km SE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.9 22km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.5 18km ESE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.7 12km NE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 12km NE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.4 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.9 24km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 16km SE of Lone Pine, CA
- 1.6 21km SW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 17km ESE 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
- 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.