QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Mammoth Lakes in the 24 hours to 10:19 am PST (18:19 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) northeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 2:12 am PDT on 5 April 2021 (09:12 UTC), 6.1 km deep.

USGS: 38km NNE of Toms Place, CA

2:12 am PDT, Apr 5, 2021 · · 6.1 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mammoth Lakes Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 28 kmMineral County 71 kmEsmeralda County 82 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
2:12 am PDT on 5 April 2021 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) northeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
6.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mono County, 28 km W
Nearest mapped fault
White Mountains fault, 6 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 2040 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Mammoth Lakes, 45 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 7.1 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 5.2 on 2020-04-11 — about 310,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 56 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 40 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 48 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 43 km SSW 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 37.8892, -118.5580. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 28 km (17 mi) W earthquakes near Mono County
Mineral County, NV 71 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Mineral County
Esmeralda County, NV 82 km (51 mi) E earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mariposa County, CA 124 km (77 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mariposa County
Madera County, CA 129 km (80 mi) SW earthquakes near Madera County
Alpine County, CA 136 km (84 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 31km SE of Bodie, CA
  2. 1.9 10km WSW of Toms Place, CA
  3. 1.7 42km S of Qualeys Camp, NV
  4. 2.4 36 km SW of Mina, Nevada
  5. 2.6 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
  6. 2.3 41km NNE of Toms Place, CA
  7. 1.6 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
  8. 1.5 29 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  9. 2.1 32 km NNE of Benton, California
  10. 1.5 13 km NW of Benton, California
  11. 1.5 38km NNE of Toms Place, CA
  12. 1.9 38km NNE of Toms Place, CA
  13. 1.5 10 km NW of Benton, California
  14. 1.5 30 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  15. 2.5 California-Nevada border region

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.