QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Lone Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lone Pine in the 24 hours to 8:19 am PST (16:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) SE, at 9:24 pm PDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lone Pine

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Lone Pine, CA, at 12:30 am PST on 5 February 2023 (08:30 UTC), 2.9 km deep.

USGS: 19km WSW of Olancha, CA

12:30 am PST, Feb 5, 2023 · · 2.9 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tulare County 53 kmInyo County 81 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
12:30 am PST on 5 February 2023 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Lone Pine, CA · earthquakes near Lone Pine
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tulare County, 53 km W
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 1375 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 Lone Pine, 45 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 6.4 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 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 2,400,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 36 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 36 km ENE 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 36.2137, -118.1943. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tulare County, CA 53 km (33 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 81 km (50 mi) ENE 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

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

  1. 1.9 10km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 2.0 12km E of Coso Junction, CA
  3. 1.6 14km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  4. 1.6 26km NNE of Kernville, CA
  5. 1.6 13km ENE of Little Lake, CA
  6. 1.5 2km NNW of Little Lake, CA
  7. 1.5 15km E of Coso Junction, CA
  8. 2.1 14km SSW of Olancha, CA
  9. 1.7 24km N of Kernville, CA
  10. 2.0 10km E of Coso Junction, CA
  11. 1.8 9km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  12. 1.7 13km NW of Coso Junction, CA
  13. 1.8 7km SSW of Olancha, CA
  14. 1.5 13km ESE of Coso Junction, CA
  15. 1.7 16km SSW 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.