QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Bishop, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 8:01 am PST (16:01 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (5 mi) NW, at 9:02 pm PDT on 30 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bishop

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) east of Bishop, CA, at 6:37 pm PST on 11 December 2016 (02:37 UTC), 10 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 25 km E of Bishop, California

6:37 pm PST, Dec 11, 2016 · · 10 km deep · released about 150 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bishop Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Esmeralda County 62 kmMono County 91 kmInyo County 110 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
6:37 pm PST on 11 December 2016 ()
Where
25 km (16 mi) east of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Esmeralda County, 62 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Deep Springs fault, 12 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 25 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: Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, Big Pine.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 2,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 35 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 28 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 18 km NNE of Mesa, California · 36 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 37.3690, -118.1125. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Esmeralda County, NV 62 km (39 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mono County, CA 91 km (56 mi) NW earthquakes near Mono County
Inyo County, CA 110 km (68 mi) SE earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 36 km ESE of Big Pine, California
  2. 2.7 8 km ENE of Swall Meadows, California
  3. 2.1 7 km SSW of Wilkerson, California
  4. 2.0 29 km E of Big Pine, CA
  5. 1.6 7 km SSW of Wilkerson, California
  6. 1.6 24 km E of Bishop, California
  7. 1.6 2 km E of Bishop, California
  8. 1.8 2 km E of Bishop, California
  9. 1.5 2 km E of Bishop, California
  10. 1.7 8 km ENE of Wilkerson, California
  11. 2.7 7 km ENE of Wilkerson, California
  12. 1.8 7 km NE of Wilkerson, California
  13. 1.6 7 km NE of Wilkerson, California
  14. 1.9 7 km NE of Wilkerson, California
  15. 1.5 8 km E of Swall Meadows, 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.