Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 9:33 am PST (17:33 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) NNE, at 10:07 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Pine
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Big Pine, CA, at 3:20 pm PDT on 26 September 2023 (22:20 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 12 km NE of Big Pine, CA
- When
- 3:20 pm PDT on 26 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 78 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Deep Springs 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 1141 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Big Pine, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Big Pine, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 12 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bishop, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, West Bishop.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 18 km NNE of Mesa, California · 40 km NNW 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 37.2508, -118.2112. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 78 km (48 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mono County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Inyo County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare 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.
- 1.7 5 km NNW of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.9 10 km SW of Big Pine, CA
- 1.6 5 km ESE of Big Pine, California
- 2.3 7 km SSE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.5 5 km N of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 7 km WSW of Round Valley, CA
- 2.7 4 km E of Round Valley, CA
- 1.9 5 km ESE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 2 km WSW of Big Pine, California
- 3.5 4 km E of Round Valley, CA
- 1.8 16 km S of Big Pine, California
- 1.6 7 km ESE of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.5 8 km ENE of Round Valley, CA
- 2.1 13 km N of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.9 20 km SSE of Dyer, Nevada
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.