Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9mw
Earthquake near West Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in West Bishop in the 24 hours to 8:25 am PST (16:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 15 km (10 mi) WNW, at 4:24 pm PDT on 24 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Bishop
This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west-northwest of West Bishop, CA, at 10:55 am PDT on 15 April 2019 (17:55 UTC), 9.3 km deep. 122 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km SE of Round Valley, CA
- When
- 10:55 am PDT on 15 April 2019 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) west-northwest of West Bishop, CA · earthquakes near West Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (mw)
- Depth
- 9.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 122 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Mono County, 66 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Round Valley fault, 13 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 2702 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Bishop, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near West 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 87 km (54 mi) from the epicentre. In West Bishop, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: West Bishop 8 km, intensity IV · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 11 km, intensity III · Bishop 13 km, intensity III · Big Pine 33 km, intensity III · Mammoth Lakes 48 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 10 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 21× more
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 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 38 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 19 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 35 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 11 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 37.3823, -118.5382. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 91 km (57 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Madera County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | W | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Fresno County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Inyo County, CA | 136 km (84 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.7 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.5 12km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.8 10km NE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.5 8 km ENE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California
- 1.6 2km NE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.7 18km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 10km SSW of Round Valley, CA
- 2.9 5km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 5km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 13km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.5 5km NNE of Wilkerson, CA
- 2.1 22km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.5 10km S of Toms Place, CA
- 2.2 14km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.5 16km SSE of Mammoth Lakes, 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.