QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Yosemite Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yosemite Valley in the 24 hours to 3:42 am PST (11:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (14 mi) SE, at 7:51 am PDT on 28 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Yosemite Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) northeast of Yosemite Valley, CA, at 8:59 pm PDT on 26 September 2018 (03:59 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17km S of Bridgeport, CA

8:59 pm PDT, Sep 26, 2018 · · 0.2 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yosemite Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 39 kmTuolumne County 63 kmAlpine County 75 kmMariposa County 83 kmMineral County 86 kmDouglas County 94 kmLyon County 102 kmMadera County 109 kmCalaveras County 114 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
8:59 pm PDT on 26 September 2018 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) northeast of Yosemite Valley, CA · earthquakes near Yosemite Valley
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
0.2 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Mono County, 39 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Robinson Creek fault, 4 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 2968 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Yosemite Valley, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 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 7.1 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 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,100,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 13 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 31 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 31 km ENE of Mono City, California · 39 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 23 km E of Bridgeport, California · 32 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 22 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 38.1050, -119.2538. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Mono County
Tuolumne County, CA 63 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Alpine County, CA 75 km (46 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Mariposa County, CA 83 km (51 mi) SW earthquakes near Mariposa County
Mineral County, NV 86 km (54 mi) ENE earthquakes near Mineral County
Douglas County, NV 94 km (59 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 20 km ENE of Mono City, California
  2. 1.5 23 km E of Mono City, California
  3. 1.8 29 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  4. 1.6 35 km NE of Mono City, California
  5. 2.6 29 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  6. 2.2 30 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 1.5 21km SSE of Bodie, CA
  8. 1.6 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  9. 1.5 30km E of Lee Vining, CA
  10. 1.7 29 km ENE of Bridgeport, California
  11. 2.2 30 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  12. 1.6 27 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  13. 1.8 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  14. 1.6 21km SSE of Bodie, CA
  15. 1.6 20km SSE of Bodie, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.