Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.7mw
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 10:28 am PST (18:28 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 3.7 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Bishop, CA, at 3:57 am PST on 14 February 2021 (11:57 UTC), 12 km deep. 58 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km ESE of Wilkerson, CA
- When
- 3:57 am PST on 14 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 3.7 (mw)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 58 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 83 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 8 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 2029 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 74 km (46 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 13 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: Big Pine 11 km, intensity III · Bishop 13 km, intensity III · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 16 km, intensity III · West Bishop 16 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 33,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.7 about 5.2 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 11× 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 42 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 32 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 12 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Mammoth Lakes area, California · 50 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 37.2632, -118.3202. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 83 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mono County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Inyo County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 122 km (76 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Fresno County, CA | 131 km (81 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.1 10km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.9 10km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 14km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 14km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.8 4km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 28km NNW of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.9 10km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 5km NNE of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.7 6km ENE of Big Pine, CA
- 2.4 6km ENE of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.6 2km E of Round Valley, CA
- 1.9 4km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 2.0 3km NNE of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.8 8km WNW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.8 2km NNE of Wilkerson, 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.