QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

36km NW of Stovepipe Wells, CA

Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 36km NW of Stovepipe Wells, CA, at 10:12 pm PDT on 19 July 2021 (05:12 UTC), 1.3 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 1.3 km deep · released about 550 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 31 kmEsmeralda County 106 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
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
1.3 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Inyo County, 31 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Northern Death Valley fault, 17 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 1556 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 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. 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 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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 4.7 on 2020-08-19 — about 660 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 47 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 36.8405, -117.4283. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Inyo County
Esmeralda County, NV 106 km (66 mi) N earthquakes near Esmeralda County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 33 km NE of Independence, California
  2. 1.6 60km NNW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
  3. 1.8 55 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  4. 2.3 19km E of Lone Pine, CA
  5. 1.6 40km NE of Independence, CA
  6. 1.6 58 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  7. 1.6 48 km ENE of Independence, California
  8. 2.0 58 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  9. 1.5 59 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  10. 2.1 57 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  11. 2.0 58 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  12. 2.3 58 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  13. 1.6 58 km S of Goldfield, Nevada
  14. 2.8 53 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  15. 1.9 52km ENE of Independence, 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.