QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0mh

Earthquake near Big Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 8:40 am PST (16:40 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 14 km (9 mi) southwest of Big Pine, CA, at 8:48 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 (03:48 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 14km SW of Big Pine, CA

8:48 pm PDT, Jul 5, 2019 · · -1.9 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Pine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tulare County 100 kmMono County 102 kmEsmeralda County 104 kmInyo County 106 kmFresno County 116 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
8:48 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) southwest of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
Magnitude
M 2.0 (mh)
Depth
-1.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tulare County, 100 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, under 1 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 2685 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 14 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: 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 30 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 47 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 29 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 10 km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California · 45 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 11 km NE of Mesa, California · 47 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 6 km WNW of Round Valley, California · 47 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 37.0732, -118.4045. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tulare County, CA 100 km (62 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tulare County
Mono County, CA 102 km (64 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 104 km (65 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Inyo County, CA 106 km (66 mi) ESE earthquakes near Inyo County
Fresno County, CA 116 km (72 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fresno County
Madera County, CA 120 km (75 mi) W earthquakes near Madera County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7km NW of West Bishop, CA
  2. 1.5 5km E of Round Valley, CA
  3. 2.6 16km SSW of Round Valley, CA
  4. 1.5 7km WNW of West Bishop, CA
  5. 1.6 7km WNW of West Bishop, CA
  6. 1.6 7km WNW of West Bishop, CA
  7. 2.8 6km W of West Bishop, CA
  8. 2.5 7km WNW of West Bishop, CA
  9. 2.3 7km W of West Bishop, CA
  10. 1.5 6km NW of West Bishop, CA
  11. 1.8 18km WSW of Wilkerson, CA
  12. 1.8 8km ESE of Wilkerson, CA
  13. 1.7 7km N of Big Pine, CA
  14. 1.7 3km WNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
  15. 1.7 2km NNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, 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.