Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Yosemite Lakes, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Yosemite Lakes in the 24 hours to 8:41 am PST (16:41 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 11 km (7 mi) S, at 2:53 pm PDT on 27 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Yosemite Lakes
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Yosemite Lakes, CA, at 4:33 am PDT on 17 April 2020 (11:33 UTC), 19 km deep.
USGS: 3km NNW of Yosemite Lakes, CA
48 km (30 mi) N of Fresno, CA · 39 km (24 mi) NE of Madera, CA
- When
- 4:33 am PDT on 17 April 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Yosemite Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Yosemite Lakes
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 19 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Madera County, 3 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2397 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Yosemite Lakes, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Yosemite Lakes, 3 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Coarsegold, Oakhurst, Ahwahnee, Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 37.2150, -119.7847. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 3 km (2 mi) | E | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Fresno County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Merced County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | W | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Mono County, CA | 112 km (69 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Mono County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
24 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 19km SSW of Mariposa, CA
- 1.6 4km WSW of Auberry, CA
- 1.8 3 km NNW of Shaver Lake, California
- 1.8 2km NNW of Coarsegold, CA
- 2.1 10km NE of Fairmead, CA
- 2.0 15km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.1 2km SW of Shaver Lake, CA
- 1.5 11km NNE of North Fork, CA
- 2.4 3km ENE of Bootjack, CA
- 1.9 18km SSW of Yosemite Village, CA
- 2.3 20km SSW of Bootjack, CA
- 2.0 11km S of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 2.0 6km W of Yosemite Lakes, CA
- 1.9 9km NNW of Ahwahnee, CA
- 2.1 2km NW of North Fork, 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.