Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2md
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 11:50 am PST (19:50 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south of Bishop, CA, at 4:17 pm PST on 28 November 2018 (00:17 UTC), 4.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1km SSE of Wilkerson, CA
- When
- 4:17 pm PST on 28 November 2018 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) south of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 4.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Mono County, 84 km NNW
- 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 2904 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 11 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 11 km, intensity II · West Bishop 12 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 14 km, intensity II · Big Pine 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 52 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 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 8,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 31 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 46 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 29 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 8 km NNW 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 37.2667, -118.3823. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 87 km (54 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Inyo County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Fresno County, CA | 126 km (78 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 15km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 7km SSW of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.5 17km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.9 15km W of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 14km W of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 16km WSW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 28 km E of Big Pine, California
- 1.8 6km E of Big Pine, CA
- 2.6 1km SSW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.8 15km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.0 1km SSW of Round Valley, CA
- 3.3 16km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.6 3km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.9 16km WSW of Toms Place, 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.