QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Big Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 8:39 pm PST (04:39 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Big Pine, CA, at 5:45 am PST on 26 December 2020 (13:45 UTC), 5.0 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 47 km ESE of Big Pine, California

5:45 am PST, Dec 26, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Pine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 64 kmEsmeralda County 80 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
5:45 am PST on 26 December 2020 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 64 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Fish Lake Valley fault, 23 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 2148 days ago

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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 48 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 11 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 10 km N of Independence, California · 43 km WSW 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 37.0647, -117.7660. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SSE earthquakes near Inyo County
Esmeralda County, NV 80 km (50 mi) N earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Tulare County, CA 130 km (81 mi) SW earthquakes near Tulare County
Mono County, CA 136 km (85 mi) NW earthquakes near Mono County
Nye County, NV 153 km (95 mi) NE earthquakes near Nye County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 34 km SSE of Silver Peak, Nevada
  2. 2.5 34km ESE of Big Pine, CA
  3. 1.6 48 km ENE of Independence, California
  4. 2.0 58 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  5. 1.5 59 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  6. 2.1 57 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  7. 1.7 45 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  8. 2.3 51 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  9. 2.0 58 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  10. 2.3 58 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  11. 1.7 39 km ENE of Big Pine, California
  12. 1.6 58 km S of Goldfield, Nevada
  13. 1.5 34 km SE of Dyer, Nevada
  14. 2.8 53 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  15. 1.9 52km ENE of Independence, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.