Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near West Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in West Bishop in the 24 hours to 10:28 am PST (18:28 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) northwest of West Bishop, CA, at 6:13 pm PST on 31 January 2020 (02:13 UTC), 13 km deep. 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NNW of Round Valley, CA
- When
- 6:13 pm PST on 31 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) northwest of West Bishop, CA · earthquakes near West Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 16 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Mono County, 56 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Round 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 2399 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 53 km (33 mi) from the epicentre. In West Bishop, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: West Bishop 18 km, intensity III · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 19 km, intensity III · Bishop 22 km, intensity II · Mammoth Lakes 38 km, intensity II · Big Pine 43 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 110,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,300× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.3× 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 130 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 39 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 18 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 18 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 24 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 1 km NE 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 37.4565, -118.6135. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 94 km (58 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Madera County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | W | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Mineral County, NV | 119 km (74 mi) | N | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Fresno County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fresno 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.
- 1.6 8km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.8 14km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 2km SSE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.8 12km SSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 5km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.6 5km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.6 5km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.7 12km SSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 6km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.9 6km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.7 4km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.6 13km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 18km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 11km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.6 2km S of Round Valley, 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.