Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5ml
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 12:14 pm PST (20:14 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 3.5 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA, at 11:15 am PDT on 12 May 2020 (18:15 UTC), 13 km deep. 22 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km NNW of Deep Springs, CA
- When
- 11:15 am PDT on 12 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 22 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 50 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Fish Lake Valley fault, 10 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 2297 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 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 59 km (37 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 34 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 34 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 35 km, intensity II · West Bishop 39 km, intensity II · Big Pine 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 75,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.7× 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 95 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 38 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 39 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 37 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 18 km NNE of Mesa, California · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10 km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California · 30 km W 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 37.4503, -118.0250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 50 km (31 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mono County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Inyo County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Mineral County, NV | 123 km (77 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mineral County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 26 km SSW of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 1.5 27 km SSW of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 1.8 26 km SSW of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 2.2 26 km SSW of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 1.5 2km NNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.7 12km WSW of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.9 14km WSW of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.6 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 2.1 62km ENE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.9 3km E of Round Valley, CA
- 1.9 16 km NW of Dyer, Nevada
- 1.8 12 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 2.3 6km ESE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 21 km S of Dyer, Nevada
- 2.0 8km NE of Big Pine, 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.