QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 9:12 am PST (17:12 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) north-northwest of Searles Valley, CA, at 5:51 am PDT on 18 May 2021 (12:51 UTC), 2.7 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 36km NNW of Searles Valley, CA

5:51 am PDT, May 18, 2021 · · 2.7 km deep · released about 210 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Searles Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 55 kmTulare County 114 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
5:51 am PDT on 18 May 2021 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) north-northwest of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
2.7 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Inyo County, 55 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Ash Hill fault, 16 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 1937 days ago

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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Searles Valley, 36 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 210 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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 7.1 on 2019-07-06 — about 6,500,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Death Valley area, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 Death Valley area, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 36 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 35 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 12 km W 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 36.0728, -117.5207. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 55 km (34 mi) N earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 114 km (71 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 136 km (84 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 13km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  2. 2.6 25km NNE of Trona, CA
  3. 2.3 16km W of Searles Valley, CA
  4. 1.6 12km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  5. 1.5 31km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  6. 1.8 25km NNE of Trona, CA
  7. 1.9 23km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  8. 1.9 12km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  9. 1.8 13km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  10. 1.6 20km E of Little Lake, CA
  11. 2.0 21km N of Trona, CA
  12. 2.2 21km NNE of Trona, CA
  13. 1.9 16km E of Little Lake, CA
  14. 2.4 16km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  15. 2.0 14km NE of Ridgecrest, 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.