QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Big Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 5:48 am PST (13:48 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) NNE, at 10:07 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Pine

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Big Pine, CA, at 3:20 pm PST on 3 March 2016 (23:20 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 8 km SSW of Wilkerson, California

3:20 pm PST, Mar 3, 2016 · · 14 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Pine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 89 kmEsmeralda County 94 kmTulare County 113 kmInyo County 114 kmMadera County 119 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
3:20 pm PST on 3 March 2016 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mono County, 89 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 6 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 3563 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Big Pine, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bishop, West Bishop, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 4.8 on 2016-02-16 — about 59,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 37 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 14 km N of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 Mammoth Lakes area, California · 50 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 37.2040, -118.4080. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 89 km (55 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 94 km (58 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Tulare County, CA 113 km (70 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 114 km (71 mi) SE earthquakes near Inyo County
Madera County, CA 119 km (74 mi) W earthquakes near Madera County
Fresno County, CA 121 km (75 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  2. 2.1 4 km N of Round Valley, California
  3. 1.9 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  4. 1.6 10 km SSW of Wilkerson, California
  5. 1.9 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  6. 2.9 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  7. 3.0 36km ESE of Big Pine, CA
  8. 2.0 35km ESE of Big Pine, CA
  9. 1.9 7 km ENE of Wilkerson, California
  10. 2.1 8 km ENE of Wilkerson, California
  11. 1.5 5 km SSE of Swall Meadows, California
  12. 1.9 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  13. 1.9 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  14. 2.0 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  15. 1.6 14 km SW of Aspen Springs, 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.