QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Mammoth Lakes in the 24 hours to 12:25 pm PST (20:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 26 km (16 mi) SSE, at 3:54 am PDT on 24 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mammoth Lakes

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) north of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 8:47 pm PDT on 11 October 2018 (03:47 UTC), 3.0 km deep.

USGS: 17km ENE of Lee Vining, CA

8:47 pm PDT, Oct 11, 2018 · · 3.0 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mammoth Lakes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 14 kmMineral County 71 kmTuolumne County 89 kmMariposa County 99 kmAlpine County 99 kmLyon County 113 kmDouglas County 113 kmMadera County 115 kmEsmeralda County 119 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
8:47 pm PDT on 11 October 2018 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) north of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mono County, 14 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Mono Lake fault, 17 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 2951 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 Mammoth Lakes, 42 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 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 50 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 39 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 35 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 16 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 12 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 47 km SSE 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 38.0297, -118.9457. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 14 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mono County
Mineral County, NV 71 km (44 mi) NE earthquakes near Mineral County
Tuolumne County, CA 89 km (55 mi) W earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Mariposa County, CA 99 km (61 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mariposa County
Alpine County, CA 99 km (62 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Lyon County, NV 113 km (70 mi) N earthquakes near Lyon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  2. 1.8 20km SE of Bodie, CA
  3. 1.6 20km SE of Bodie, CA
  4. 1.5 California-Nevada border region
  5. 2.1 27 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  6. 2.0 27 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 2.0 27 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  8. 2.0 4km WNW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  9. 1.8 23 km SSE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  10. 2.0 11km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  11. 1.5 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  12. 1.9 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  13. 1.6 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  14. 1.9 21km SE of Bodie, CA
  15. 1.6 20km SE 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.