Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Yosemite Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Yosemite Valley in the 24 hours to 5:38 pm PST (01:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 22 km (14 mi) SE, at 7:51 am PDT on 28 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Yosemite Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) east-southeast of Yosemite Valley, CA, at 12:00 am PDT on 27 May 2021 (07:00 UTC), 23 km deep.
USGS: 23km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- When
- 12:00 am PDT on 27 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) east-southeast of Yosemite Valley, CA · earthquakes near Yosemite Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 23 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mariposa County, 50 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Silver Lake fault, 24 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 1996 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Yosemite Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Yosemite Valley, 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Yosemite Valley, 23 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 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 4.4 on 2020-02-01 — about 13,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 46 km E of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 49 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 11 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 43 km E 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 37.6363, -119.3490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariposa County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | W | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Mono County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Madera County, CA | 59 km (37 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Fresno County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Alpine County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 19km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 2.2 20km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 1.5 31km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.6 8km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 2.7 16km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.5 13km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.5 14km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
- 1.8 24km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.8 24km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.7 27km SW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.8 14km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 2.3 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
- 2.6 11km S of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 2.0 23km 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.