Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Weldon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Weldon in the 24 hours to 12:03 pm PST (20:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 11 km (7 mi) W, at 2:37 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 30 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Weldon
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) north-northeast of Weldon, CA, at 1:08 pm PST on 8 March 2021 (21:08 UTC), 9.6 km deep.
USGS: 16km W of Coso Junction, CA
- When
- 1:08 pm PST on 8 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) north-northeast of Weldon, CA · earthquakes near Weldon
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 64 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 13 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 2075 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Weldon, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Weldon, 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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Weldon, 42 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 8.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 1,800,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 37 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 43 km E 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 36.0193, -118.1222. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Kern County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 16km E of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 14km SE of Olancha, CA
- 2.5 14km SE of Olancha, CA
- 1.7 19km ENE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.4 19km ENE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.4 20km E of Little Lake, CA
- 2.3 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.5 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 21km N of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.8 27km E of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.3 15km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 14km SSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.8 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.8 11km N of Coso Junction, 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.