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 4:28 am PST (12:28 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 41 km (26 mi) southwest of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 6:46 pm PST on 5 March 2022 (02:46 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 26km NE of North Fork, CA

80 km (50 mi) NNE of Fresno, CA

6:46 pm PST, Mar 5, 2022 · · 19 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Madera County 44 kmMariposa County 58 kmMono County 70 kmFresno County 76 kmTuolumne County 92 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
6:46 pm PST on 5 March 2022 ()
Where
41 km (26 mi) southwest of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Madera County, 44 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1712 days ago

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 Mammoth Lakes, 41 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 8.4 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 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 15,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 48 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 49 km NE 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 37.3850, -119.2987. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Madera County, CA 44 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Madera County
Mariposa County, CA 58 km (36 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mariposa County
Mono County, CA 70 km (43 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mono County
Fresno County, CA 76 km (47 mi) SSW earthquakes near Fresno County
Tuolumne County, CA 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Calaveras County, CA 142 km (88 mi) NW earthquakes near Calaveras County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 14km SSW of Toms Place, CA
  2. 1.9 8km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  3. 2.1 8km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  4. 2.5 15km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
  5. 1.6 18km ESE of Yosemite Valley, CA
  6. 1.9 7km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  7. 1.9 14km ENE of Midpines, CA
  8. 2.6 13km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  9. 2.6 13km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  10. 1.7 13km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  11. 1.8 14km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  12. 1.9 16km ENE of Midpines, CA
  13. 2.0 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  14. 1.8 8km NE of Ahwahnee, CA
  15. 1.8 12km W of Toms Place, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.