Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 2:24 pm PST (22:24 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Bishop, CA, at 12:38 pm PST on 22 December 2025 (20:38 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 3 km SE of Wilkerson, CA
- When
- 12:38 pm PST on 22 December 2025 ()
- Where
- 12 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Mono County, 86 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 7 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 238 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bishop, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bishop, 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 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.
Likely felt in: Big Pine 12 km, intensity II · Bishop 12 km, intensity II · West Bishop 14 km, intensity II · Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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 1,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 32 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 48 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 31 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 10 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Mammoth Lakes area, California · 48 km NW 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 37.2575, -118.3618. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 87 km (54 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Inyo County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Fresno County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 7 km SE of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.6 20 km N of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, CA
- 1.6 19 km E of Big Pine, California
- 1.6 7 km NNW of Big Pine, CA
- 2.1 7 km N of Big Pine, CA
- 1.7 6 km NNE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.8 5 km NNE of Big Pine, CA
- 2.4 30 km ESE of Big Pine, California
- 2.1 8 km SSW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.9 13 km NNE of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.6 11 km SW of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 8 km SE of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.5 8 km N of Round Valley, CA
- 1.6 17 km WSW of Toms Place, CA
- 2.4 4 km SW of Toms Place, 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.