M3.3 earthquake 21km NNW of Searles Valley, CA

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck 21km NNW of Searles Valley, CA on Sun, Jan 17, 2021, 11:29 PM PST (07:29 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 10km SE of Olancha, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.27	ML, local (Richter)	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · ±0.157 · 88 stations
3.1	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.029 · 156 stations

5 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 198 in the 60 days after this one and 98 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 198.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci39760416 (also filed as us7000d11s). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 3:05 AM UTC.