QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Bishop, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the last 24 hours. M 1.9, 12 km (8 mi) WNW of Bishop, at 8:40 am PST on 13 November 2026 (16:40 UTC); the estimated shaking in Bishop was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Bishop

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA, at 4:13 am PST on 12 March 2016 (12:13 UTC), 4.2 km deep.

USGS: 8 km ENE of Bishop, California

4:13 am PST, Mar 12, 2016 · · 4.2 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bishop Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Esmeralda County 73 kmMono County 76 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
4:13 am PST on 12 March 2016 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
4.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Esmeralda County, 73 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Owens Valley fault, 8 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 3056 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 Bishop, 8 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.

Likely felt in: Bishop 8 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 29 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 20 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 12 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 37.3947, -118.3110. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Esmeralda County, NV 73 km (46 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mono County, CA 76 km (47 mi) NW earthquakes near Mono County
Inyo County, CA 123 km (76 mi) SE earthquakes near Inyo County
Fresno County, CA 138 km (86 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 2 km SW of Round Valley, California
  2. 2.3 18km NNW of Independence, CA
  3. 1.6 13 km SW of Aspen Springs, California
  4. 1.6 18 km NNW of Independence, California
  5. 2.9 18km NNW of Independence, CA
  6. 1.7 9 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  7. 1.9 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  8. 1.7 10 km W of Aspen Springs, California
  9. 1.5 35 km ESE of Big Pine, California
  10. 1.7 5 km S of Aspen Springs, California
  11. 1.5 0 km WNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California
  12. 1.8 4 km NNW of Big Pine, California
  13. 1.7 7 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California
  14. 2.1 4 km N of Round Valley, California
  15. 1.9 7 km WSW 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.