QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near West Bishop, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in West Bishop in the 24 hours to 10:29 am PST (18:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 15 km (10 mi) WNW, at 4:24 pm PDT on 24 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Bishop

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north-northwest of West Bishop, CA, at 7:16 am PST on 27 February 2023 (15:16 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4km NNW of West Bishop, CA

7:16 am PST, Feb 27, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 68 kmEsmeralda County 86 kmMadera County 114 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
7:16 am PST on 27 February 2023 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) north-northwest of West Bishop, CA · earthquakes near West Bishop
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Mono County, 68 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Fish Slough fault, 7 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 1285 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In West Bishop, 4 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.

Likely felt in: West Bishop 4 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 5 km, intensity II · Bishop 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 4.8 on 2016-02-16 — about 2,200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 39 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 16 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 31 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 14 km WNW 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 37.3953, -118.4765. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 68 km (42 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 86 km (53 mi) ENE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Madera County, CA 114 km (71 mi) W earthquakes near Madera County
Fresno County, CA 126 km (78 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fresno County
Inyo County, CA 133 km (83 mi) SE earthquakes near Inyo 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. 2.7 15km N of Deep Springs, CA
  2. 1.9 16km N of Deep Springs, CA
  3. 2.6 15km NNE of Deep Springs, CA
  4. 2.0 14km N of Deep Springs, CA
  5. 2.5 14km N of Deep Springs, CA
  6. 1.7 15 km SE of Dyer, Nevada
  7. 2.0 14km N of Deep Springs, CA
  8. 2.8 13km N of Deep Springs, CA
  9. 2.3 13km N of Deep Springs, CA
  10. 1.9 16km N of Deep Springs, CA
  11. 2.2 14km N of Deep Springs, CA
  12. 1.9 14km N of Deep Springs, CA
  13. 2.8 16km N of Deep Springs, CA
  14. 1.6 17 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
  15. 1.9 16km N of Deep Springs, 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.