Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mammoth Lakes in the 24 hours to 2:34 pm PST (22:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 26 km (16 mi) SSE, at 3:54 am PDT on 24 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mammoth Lakes
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north-northeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 12:51 am PDT on 16 April 2020 (07:51 UTC), 3.9 km deep.
USGS: 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- When
- 12:51 am PDT on 16 April 2020 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) north-northeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 3.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mono County, 17 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Huntoon Valley fault system, 5 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 2381 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mammoth Lakes, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, 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 Mammoth Lakes, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.6 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 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,400,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 44 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 39 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 31 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 12 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 48 km S 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 38.0432, -118.7638. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 17 km (11 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Mineral County, NV | 61 km (38 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 104 km (64 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Alpine County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.9 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.5 40km S of Qualeys Camp, NV
- 2.4 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.7 30km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.9 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.6 28km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.1 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.3 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.1 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.3 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.2 32 km NNW of Benton, California
- 2.0 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.9 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.5 31km ESE of Bodie, 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.