Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 1:24 pm PST (21:24 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) southwest of Bishop, CA, at 6:27 pm PDT on 19 March 2018 (01:27 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 23km WSW of Wilkerson, CA
- When
- 6:27 pm PDT on 19 March 2018 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) southwest of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mono County, 86 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Round Valley fault, 11 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 3150 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 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 29 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: West Bishop, Big Pine, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 43 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 32 km N of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 25 km NE 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 37.1712, -118.6127. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Madera County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | W | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Fresno County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Tulare County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | S | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 110 km (68 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 123 km (77 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Mariposa 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.
- 2.3 16km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 2.0 3km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 6km NE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.7 8km NNE of Big Pine, CA
- 2.1 4km NE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 4km E of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 7km NNW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.9 28km S of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.5 7km NNE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.5 6km ESE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.8 17km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Bishop, CA
- 1.9 6km E of Round Valley, CA
- 1.9 9km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 6km NNE of Big Pine, CA
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.