QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 8:40 am PST (16:40 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Searles Valley, CA, at 1:20 pm PDT on 21 May 2021 (20:20 UTC), 2.5 km deep.

USGS: 34km ENE of Coso Junction, CA

1:20 pm PDT, May 21, 2021 · · 2.5 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Searles Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 47 kmTulare 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
1:20 pm PDT on 21 May 2021 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
2.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 47 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Ash Hill fault, 19 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 2001 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Searles Valley, 48 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 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 240,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 46 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 44 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 27km E of Coso Junction, California · 11 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 15km NNE of Inyokern, CA · 46 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 16km N of Ridgecrest, California · 46 km S 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 36.1712, -117.6047. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 47 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 106 km (66 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 137 km (85 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.

  1. 3.2 20km NNE of Olancha, CA
  2. 2.0 20km NNE of Olancha, CA
  3. 2.6 21km NNE of Olancha, CA
  4. 1.5 16km E of Coso Junction, CA
  5. 2.6 16km E of Coso Junction, CA
  6. 3.4 21km NNE of Olancha, CA
  7. 2.4 16km E of Coso Junction, CA
  8. 2.0 22km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  9. 1.9 20km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  10. 2.1 16km E of Coso Junction, CA
  11. 2.6 26km N of Searles Valley, CA
  12. 2.2 17km W of Searles Valley, CA
  13. 2.2 16km N of Olancha, CA
  14. 2.1 22km NNE of Inyokern, CA
  15. 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.