Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mammoth Lakes in the 24 hours to 3:20 pm PST (23:20 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 39 km (25 mi) west-southwest of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 10:14 pm PDT on 2 May 2021 (05:14 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 30km NE of Oakhurst, CA
87 km (54 mi) NNE of Fresno, CA
- When
- 10:14 pm PDT on 2 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 39 km (25 mi) west-southwest of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Madera County, 46 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2018 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mammoth Lakes, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, 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 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Mammoth Lakes, 39 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 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 4.0 on 2020-04-05 — about 2,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 49 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 11 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 50 km ENE 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 37.4940, -119.3755. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 46 km (28 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | W | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Mono County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 78 km (49 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Fresno County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Merced County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 12km N of Yosemite Village, CA
- 1.7 12km S of Bootjack, CA
- 1.7 14km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 2.3 6km SE of Shaver Lake, CA
- 1.5 Central California
- 1.6 22km NE of North Fork, CA
- 1.6 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 12km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.8 22km SSE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 2.2 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 1.7 20km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 2.2 5km SW of North Fork, CA
- 1.6 22km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.0 22km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 15km ESE of Yosemite Valley, 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.