Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Mammoth Lakes, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mammoth Lakes in the 24 hours to 2:36 pm PST (22:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 26 km (16 mi) SSE, at 3:54 am PDT on 24 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mammoth Lakes
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA, at 2:16 pm PDT on 4 September 2020 (21:16 UTC), 6.0 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 28 km ENE of Lee Vining, California
- When
- 2:16 pm PDT on 4 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Mammoth Lakes, CA · earthquakes near Mammoth Lakes
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mono County, 13 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Huntoon Valley fault system, 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 2260 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mammoth Lakes, CA
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Mammoth Lakes, 43 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,000,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 49 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.1 11 km WNW of Aspen Springs, California · 47 km S of this epicentre
- 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 39 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 35 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 11 km SE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 48 km S 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 38.0168, -118.8093. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 13 km (8 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Mineral County, NV | 65 km (41 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | W | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 107 km (66 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mariposa County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mariposa County |
| Alpine County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Alpine 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.
- 1.6 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.8 31km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.6 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 14km NNW of Lee Vining, CA
- 1.5 33 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
- 1.5 29km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.5 33 km NNE of Benton, California
- 1.6 5km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 1.9 30km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.0 28km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.9 28km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.7 30 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
- 2.2 33km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.0 33km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.0 34 km NNE of Benton, 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.