QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Bishop, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 6:34 am PST (14:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (5 mi) NW, at 9:02 pm PDT on 30 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bishop

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA, at 2:25 am PDT on 14 March 2023 (09:25 UTC), 1.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 16km N of Deep Springs, CA

2:25 am PDT, Mar 14, 2023 · · 1.1 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bishop Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Esmeralda County 43 kmMono County 90 kmInyo County 118 kmMineral 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
2:25 am PDT on 14 March 2023 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
1.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Esmeralda County, 43 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Fish Lake Valley fault, 10 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 1272 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 39 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 40 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 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 2022-01-06 — about 370 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 41 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 18 km NNE of Mesa, California · 40 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10 km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California · 34 km W 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 37.5137, -117.9837. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Esmeralda County, NV 43 km (27 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mono County, CA 90 km (56 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mono County
Inyo County, CA 118 km (73 mi) SSE earthquakes near Inyo County
Mineral County, NV 118 km (73 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mineral 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. 2.4 15km N of Deep Springs, CA
  2. 2.0 16km N of Deep Springs, CA
  3. 2.3 14km N of Deep Springs, CA
  4. 3.7 15km N of Deep Springs, CA
  5. 1.7 16km NNE of Deep Springs, CA
  6. 1.5 19 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
  7. 1.8 16km N of Deep Springs, CA
  8. 3.9 15km N of Deep Springs, CA
  9. 1.6 19km N of Deep Springs, CA
  10. 1.8 19 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
  11. 1.7 15km NNE of Deep Springs, CA
  12. 1.6 19 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
  13. 1.7 19 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
  14. 1.9 15km N of Deep Springs, CA
  15. 2.7 15km 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.