Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 9:57 am PST (17:57 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (5 mi) NW, at 9:02 pm PDT on 30 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bishop
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) south-southwest of Bishop, CA, at 11:43 am PST on 24 February 2020 (19:43 UTC), 8.2 km deep.
USGS: 2km SSW of Bishop, CA
- When
- 11:43 am PST on 24 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) south-southwest of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 8.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mono County, 76 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Owens Valley 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 2453 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bishop, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near 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 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 2 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: Bishop 2 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 5 km, intensity II · West Bishop 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 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 70,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 34 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 22 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 46 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 22 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 37.3448, -118.4060. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 84 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Madera County, CA | 120 km (74 mi) | W | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Inyo County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo 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
27 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.7 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 4.0 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.2 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 15km WSW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 4km NNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.9 20km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 15km N of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.8 15km NNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.9 12km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.1 20km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.9 1km S of Round Valley, CA
- 1.8 14km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 2km SSE 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.