Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5ml
Earthquake near Big Pine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 8:20 am PST (16:20 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 3.5 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) west-southwest of Big Pine, CA, at 9:47 pm PST on 3 December 2023 (05:47 UTC), 10 km deep. 14 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 24 km WSW of Big Pine, CA
- When
- 9:47 pm PST on 3 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) west-southwest of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 14 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- 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 1006 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 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 62 km (39 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.
Likely felt in: Big Pine 24 km, intensity II · West Bishop 34 km, intensity II · Bishop 35 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 37 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 65,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.4× more
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 83 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 · 48 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 37.0655, -118.5315. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Mono County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Fresno County, CA | 105 km (66 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Madera County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | W | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 112 km (70 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.
- 2.7 16 km ENE of Big Pine, CA
- 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
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.