Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.8md
Earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, CA
Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) south-southeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 6:28 am PDT on 16 October 2026 (13:28 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 19 km SW of Toms Place, CA
- When
- 6:28 am PDT on 16 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) south-southeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (md)
- Depth
- 0.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Mono County, 53 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hilton Creek fault, 9 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 4 hours ago
Earthquake alerts for Mammoth Lakes, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Mammoth Lakes, 26 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: Mammoth Lakes 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 420 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 36,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 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 1,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 38 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1986 Chalfant Valley, California Earthquake · 36 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.2 9 km SW of Aspen Springs, California · 7 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 17 km N of this epicentre
- 6.1 8 km W of Aspen Springs, California · 13 km N of this epicentre
- 6.1 4 km NNW of Round Valley, California · 20 km E 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 37.4412, -118.8333. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | N | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Madera County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Madera County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | W | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Fresno County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 112 km (70 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| reported intensity | not reported | 1 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 1 |
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.