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Location:
16km ESE of Little Lake, CA
Period:
5 Jul 2019 08:55:59 - 13 Aug 2019 16:41:27 (39 days 7 hours 45 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
None
Earthquakes:
2694
17 swarms found nearby.
2000
S20000229.1(26.6km)
28 Feb
9 days 21 hours
154 earthquakes
2002
28 Sep
1 day 21 hours
48 earthquakes
2008
29 Nov
16 days 16 hours
369 earthquakes
2010
S20101202.1(28.8km)
1 Dec
1 day 12 hours
30 earthquakes
2014
4 Mar
4 days 14 hours
79 earthquakes
2015
S20150217.1(26.0km)
16 Feb
11 days 1 hours
139 earthquakes
2016
S20160813.1(29.4km)
12 Aug
2 days 10 hours
46 earthquakes
2019
4 Jul
29 days 2 hours
2446 earthquakes
5 Jul
12 days 17 hours
712 earthquakes
6 Jul
8 days 16 hours
302 earthquakes
S20190708.2(16.2km)
7 Jul
4 days 17 hours
70 earthquakes
S20190803.1(29.8km)
2 Aug
2 days 8 hours
77 earthquakes
2020
S20200101.1(29.9km)
1 Jan
7 days 0 hours
130 earthquakes
23 Mar
4 days 2 hours
52 earthquakes
S20201030.1(24.4km)
29 Oct
2 days 2 hours
54 earthquakes
2022
S20220204.1(27.8km)
3 Feb
3 days 0 hours
45 earthquakes
2024
S20240811.1(29.6km)
10 Aug
5 days 16 hours
78 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm S20190706.1: Analysis of Activity Near Little Lake, California

Seismic swarm S20190706.1 occurred in the region 16 km east-southeast of Little Lake, California, beginning at 08:55 on 5 July 2019 and concluding at 16:41 on 13 August 2019. Over 943 hours and 45 minutes, the sequence registered 2,694 earthquakes. This event aligns with patterns observed in the Eastern California Shear Zone, an area of distributed dextral strike-slip faulting that accommodates a portion of the relative motion between the Pacific and North American plates.

The initial 100 events, spanning from 5 July to early 7 July, featured predominantly low-magnitude activity with depths ranging from negative values to 10 km. The sequence began with a magnitude 1.0 event at 7 km depth, followed by several events below magnitude 1.0. On 6 July, the swarm intensified with multiple events exceeding magnitude 4.0, including a magnitude 4.8 at 9 km depth at 03:20:41, a magnitude 4.6 at 8 km at 03:22:03, and another magnitude 4.6 at 9 km at 03:22:48. Subsequent notable events included magnitudes 4.1, 4.6, and 3.3 clustered within the first hours of 6 July, with depths mostly between 1 km and 9 km. Later events on 6 and 7 July remained below magnitude 3.3, showing a rapid decline in peak magnitudes while maintaining shallow focal depths.

This swarm reflects typical characteristics of the local tectonic setting, where the Coso Volcanic Field and surrounding fault networks contribute to episodic seismic clusters. The area has experienced recurrent swarms due to its position along active fault strands that transfer slip in a transtensional regime. Historical records since 2000 indicate eight prior swarms in the vicinity, occurring in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019, underscoring the region's persistent low-to-moderate seismic productivity without a dominant mainshock-aftershock pattern.

Geological context for the Little Lake area includes Quaternary basaltic and rhyolitic volcanism associated with the Coso field, coupled with northwest-trending faults that exhibit both strike-slip and normal components. Depths in the observed events, concentrated above 10 km, are consistent with brittle failure in the upper crust influenced by regional extension and local magmatic or hydrothermal processes. The 2019 swarm's duration and event count exceed several earlier episodes, highlighting variability in swarm intensity within this tectonically active corridor.

Overall, swarm S20190706.1 provides further documentation of distributed seismicity in the Eastern California Shear Zone. Continued monitoring supports improved characterization of fault interactions and strain accumulation in this portion of the Mojave Desert.

References

  • United States Geological Survey Earthquake Catalog (USGS)
  • California Geological Survey regional fault maps
  • SeismoSight internal swarm classification data