QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Yosemite Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yosemite Valley in the 24 hours to 5:39 pm PST (01:39 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) southeast of Yosemite Valley, CA, at 11:50 am PDT on 31 July 2022 (18:50 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 19km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA

11:50 am PDT, Jul 31, 2022 · · 11 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mariposa County 46 kmMono County 55 kmMadera County 57 kmTuolumne County 65 kmFresno County 101 kmAlpine County 114 kmCalaveras County 118 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
11:50 am PDT on 31 July 2022 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) southeast of Yosemite Valley, CA · earthquakes near Yosemite Valley
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mariposa County, 46 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1565 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Yosemite Valley, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 44 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 42 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 11 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 47 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 12 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 49 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 14 km WSW of Aspen Springs, California · 48 km ESE 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 37.6433, -119.3958. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mariposa County, CA 46 km (29 mi) W earthquakes near Mariposa County
Mono County, CA 55 km (34 mi) ENE earthquakes near Mono County
Madera County, CA 57 km (36 mi) SSW earthquakes near Madera County
Tuolumne County, CA 65 km (41 mi) NW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Fresno County, CA 101 km (63 mi) SSW earthquakes near Fresno County
Alpine County, CA 114 km (71 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. 1.7 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  2. 1.6 7km NE of Ahwahnee, CA
  3. 1.5 18km SSE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  4. 2.5 24km ENE of Oakhurst, CA
  5. 1.5 32km NE of North Fork, CA
  6. 1.5 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  7. 1.5 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  8. 1.7 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
  9. 1.7 29km NE of Oakhurst, CA
  10. 1.6 15km SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  11. 2.5 28km NE of Oakhurst, CA
  12. 1.8 10km SSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  13. 2.3 11km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  14. 2.9 11km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  15. 1.6 11km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, 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.