Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 8:19 am PST (16:19 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) west-southwest of Big Pine, CA, at 9:08 pm PST on 3 December 2023 (05:08 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 24 km WSW of Big Pine, CA
- When
- 9:08 pm PST on 3 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) west-southwest of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 96 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 11 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 1074 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 24 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 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 30,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 44 km N of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10 km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11 km NE of Mesa, California · 48 km N of this epicentre
- 5.6 6 km WNW of Round Valley, California · 44 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 37.0675, -118.5265. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Mono County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Fresno County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Madera County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | W | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 112 km (69 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Inyo County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 16 km SW of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.6 6 km WNW of West Bishop, CA
- 3.1 4 km WSW of West Bishop, CA
- 2.7 4 km WSW of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 2 km WSW of Bishop, CA
- 2.2 16 km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 6 km NE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 2.6 3 km S of Independence, CA
- 1.7 7 km ENE of Bishop, CA
- 2.3 10 km NE of Round Valley, CA
- 2.3 9 km NE of Round Valley, CA
- 1.7 4 km ESE of Round Valley, CA
- 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
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.