QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

26 km WNW of Stovepipe Wells, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 26 km WNW of Stovepipe Wells, CA, at 3:31 am PDT on 18 April 2026 (10:31 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

· -1.3 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 12 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
-1.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 12 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Hunter Mountain- Saline Valley fault, 18 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 208 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 25 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 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 15,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 49 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 49 km SW 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 36.6640, -117.4328. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 12 km (7 mi) SSE earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 37 km S of Stovepipe Wells, CA
  2. 1.6 51 km NE of Keeler, California
  3. 1.3 19 km NNE of Olancha, CA
  4. 2.2 15 km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  5. 1.6 41 km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
  6. 1.8 43 km SW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
  7. 2.1 38 km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
  8. 1.5 63 km ENE of Independence, California
  9. 1.7 17 km NE of Olancha, CA
  10. 2.7 17 km SE of Lone Pine, CA
  11. 1.8 51 km WNW of Beatty, Nevada
  12. 1.6 51 km WNW of Beatty, Nevada
  13. 1.9 17 km W of Furnace Creek, CA
  14. 1.6 62 km NNE of Keeler, California
  15. 1.6 61 km NNE of Keeler, California

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.