QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Bishop, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 3:22 pm PST (23:22 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Bishop, CA, at 11:54 pm PDT on 29 April 2020 (06:54 UTC), 3.3 km deep.

USGS: 4km SSE of Bishop, CA

11:54 pm PDT, Apr 29, 2020 · · 3.3 km deep · released about 74 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bishop Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 79 kmEsmeralda County 83 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:54 pm PDT on 29 April 2020 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
3.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mono County, 79 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Owens Valley fault, 1 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 2387 days ago

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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 4 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: Bishop 4 km, intensity III · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 7 km, intensity II · West Bishop 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 74 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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 5,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 30 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 25 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 37.3255, -118.3843. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 83 km (52 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Inyo County, CA 122 km (76 mi) SE earthquakes near Inyo County
Fresno County, CA 129 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

40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.0 17km WSW of Toms Place, CA
  2. 2.2 15km SW of Toms Place, CA
  3. 1.6 13km WSW of Toms Place, CA
  4. 1.8 15km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  5. 1.7 11km SSW of Toms Place, CA
  6. 1.8 12km SSW of Toms Place, CA
  7. 3.4 12km SSW of Toms Place, CA
  8. 2.1 12km SSW of Toms Place, CA
  9. 2.7 12km SSW of Toms Place, CA
  10. 1.8 16km SW of Toms Place, CA
  11. 1.7 14km WSW of Toms Place, CA
  12. 1.5 13km SW of Toms Place, CA
  13. 2.0 16km SW of Toms Place, CA
  14. 2.1 16km SW of Toms Place, CA
  15. 2.8 13km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.