QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

15km SSW of Olancha, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 15km SSW of Olancha, CA, at 2:39 am PST on 20 January 2021 (10:39 UTC), 2.6 km deep.

· 2.6 km deep · released about 22 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tulare County 64 kmInyo County 75 kmKern County 108 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 1.9 (ml)
Depth
2.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tulare County, 64 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 11 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 2121 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 15 km (9 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 22 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 680,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 480,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 43× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 22 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 680,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 15km NNE of Inyokern, CA · 50 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 28km E of Coso Junction, California · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 24 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 36.1545, -118.0735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tulare County, CA 64 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 75 km (47 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 108 km (67 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  2. 1.7 29km WSW of Olancha, CA
  3. 2.1 19km SSE of Lone Pine, CA
  4. 2.2 11km S of Olancha, CA
  5. 2.6 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  6. 2.5 9km SE of Olancha, CA
  7. 2.0 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  8. 1.9 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  9. 1.9 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  10. 2.0 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  11. 2.8 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  12. 2.5 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  13. 4.0 10km SE of Olancha, CA
  14. 1.5 5km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
  15. 1.9 21km ESE of Little Lake, 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.