Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 8:59 am PST (16:59 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Big Pine, CA, at 3:02 am PDT on 10 October 2019 (10:02 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 5km NW of Big Pine, CA
- When
- 3:02 am PDT on 10 October 2019 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 88 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 2 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 2578 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, 5 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 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 25,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 39 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 38 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 49 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 17 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 18 km NNE of Mesa, California · 42 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 37.2002, -118.3205. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 88 km (55 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mono County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Inyo County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Fresno County, CA | 128 km (80 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 4km NNE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.8 26km SW of Big Pine, CA
- 1.8 25km SW of Big Pine, CA
- 2.2 12km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 2km SSE of West Bishop, CA
- 1.7 8km NNW of West Bishop, CA
- 1.6 40 km E of Big Pine, California
- 1.7 10km S of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 7km NNW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.5 17km S of Round Valley, CA
- 2.8 4km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 7km WSW of Round Valley, CA
- 2.5 7km WSW of Round Valley, CA
- 2.1 20km SSW of Big Pine, CA
- 1.9 20km S of Big Pine, 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.