QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Bishop, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 9:03 am PST (17:03 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA, at 9:42 pm PDT on 18 March 2023 (04:42 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 16km N of Deep Springs, CA

9:42 pm PDT, Mar 18, 2023 · · 10 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bishop Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Esmeralda County 41 kmMono County 92 kmInyo County 117 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
9:42 pm PDT on 18 March 2023 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) east-northeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Esmeralda County, 41 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Fish Lake Valley fault, 8 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 1332 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 42 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 8.7 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× 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 8.7 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 46,000 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 · 43 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 42 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 46 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 18 km NNE of Mesa, California · 43 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10 km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California · 37 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 37.5142, -117.9580. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Esmeralda County, NV 41 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mono County, CA 92 km (57 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mono County
Inyo County, CA 117 km (73 mi) SSE earthquakes near Inyo County
Mineral County, NV 118 km (74 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mineral County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  2. 1.6 58km ENE of Big Pine, CA
  3. 2.3 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  4. 1.5 60km ENE of Big Pine, CA
  5. 2.2 63 km ENE of Big Pine, CA
  6. 1.5 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  7. 1.5 54 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  8. 1.8 51 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  9. 1.5 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  10. 2.5 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  11. 1.7 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  12. 1.7 California-Nevada border region
  13. 1.7 54 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  14. 2.2 64 km ENE of Big Pine, CA
  15. 1.8 65km ENE of Big Pine, 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.