Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7md
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 8:21 am PST (16:21 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) southeast of Bishop, CA, at 3:09 pm PDT on 18 April 2017 (22:09 UTC), 13 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km ENE of Wilkerson, California
- When
- 3:09 pm PDT on 18 April 2017 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) southeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 80 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Owens Valley fault, 7 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
Earthquake alerts for Bishop, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bishop, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 9 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 9 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 12 km, intensity II · West Bishop 13 km, intensity II · Big Pine 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 350 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 43,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 31,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 350 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 1,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 25 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 27 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 9 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Mammoth Lakes area, California · 46 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 37.3135, -118.3183. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 80 km (49 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mono County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Inyo County, CA | 117 km (72 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 134 km (83 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
23 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 10 km NE of Mesa, California
- 2.2 26 km WSW of Wilkerson, California
- 1.7 3 km NNW of West Bishop, California
- 1.7 2 km NNW of West Bishop, California
- 1.6 14 km SW of Aspen Springs, California
- 1.9 14 km SW of Aspen Springs, California
- 1.6 13 km N of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California
- 1.9 14 km SW of Aspen Springs, California
- 1.8 36 km ESE of Big Pine, California
- 2.7 8 km ENE of Swall Meadows, California
- 2.1 7 km SSW of Wilkerson, California
- 2.0 29 km E of Big Pine, CA
- 2.3 15 km SW of Aspen Springs, California
- 1.6 7 km SSW of Wilkerson, California
- 1.8 4 km W 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.