Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 2:23 pm PST (22:23 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) NNE, at 10:07 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Pine
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Big Pine, CA, at 2:44 am PDT on 3 May 2019 (09:44 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 8km SSW of Wilkerson, CA
- When
- 2:44 am PDT on 3 May 2019 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mono County, 89 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 6 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 2750 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Big Pine, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Big Pine, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 12 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: Bishop, West Bishop, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 13,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 37 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 48 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 14 km N of this epicentre
- 6.0 Mammoth Lakes area, California · 49 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 37.2035, -118.4135. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 94 km (58 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Tulare County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Madera County, CA | 118 km (74 mi) | W | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Fresno County, CA | 121 km (75 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.
- 1.6 14km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.8 12km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.5 12km WNW of Round Valley, CA
- 2.1 2km NW of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.6 2km NW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.7 3km NW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.8 7km WSW of West Bishop, CA
- 1.9 19km NNW of Independence, CA
- 2.1 6km WSW of West Bishop, CA
- 1.6 7km WSW of West Bishop, CA
- 1.5 6km NE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.5 7 km ESE of Wilkerson, California
- 2.5 9km NNE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 18km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.2 18km SW 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.