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Location:
15 km SW of Searles Valley, CA
Period:
11 Feb 2020 04:03:00 - 28 Sep 2020 21:30:05 (230 days 17 hours 27 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
None
Earthquakes:
4310
114 swarms found nearby.
2000
S20000126.1(29.8km)
25 Jan
1 day 8 hours
31 earthquakes
S20000229.1(23.3km)
28 Feb
9 days 21 hours
154 earthquakes
S20000329.1(21.9km)
28 Mar
9 days 13 hours
115 earthquakes
S20000911.1(23.1km)
10 Sep
9 days 14 hours
140 earthquakes
S20000921.1(24.0km)
20 Sep
15 days 13 hours
274 earthquakes
2001
S20010408.1(20.7km)
7 Apr
1 day 16 hours
29 earthquakes
S20010423.1(24.5km)
23 Apr
8 days 21 hours
256 earthquakes
S20010610.1(22.9km)
9 Jun
4 days 3 hours
51 earthquakes
S20010714.1(24.4km)
14 Jul
67 days 13 hours
5060 earthquakes
2002
S20020907.1(24.2km)
6 Sep
2 days 1 hours
31 earthquakes
2004
S20040224.2(19.3km)
24 Feb
1 day 20 hours
36 earthquakes
S20040629.1(19.1km)
28 Jun
3 days 22 hours
108 earthquakes
S20040712.1(22.8km)
11 Jul
17 days 11 hours
158 earthquakes
S20040807.1(22.0km)
6 Aug
8 days 18 hours
101 earthquakes
S20040915.1(19.6km)
14 Sep
8 days 20 hours
86 earthquakes
S20040925.1(25.0km)
24 Sep
4 days 9 hours
57 earthquakes
S20041202.1(20.3km)
1 Dec
2 days 18 hours
36 earthquakes
2005
S20050926.1(17.8km)
25 Sep
1 day 9 hours
41 earthquakes
2006
S20060104.1(18.7km)
3 Jan
2 days 16 hours
37 earthquakes
S20060324.1(17.1km)
23 Mar
4 days 11 hours
67 earthquakes
S20060713.1(22.9km)
12 Jul
6 days 5 hours
67 earthquakes
S20060824.1(17.5km)
23 Aug
8 days 12 hours
89 earthquakes
S20061127.1(17.3km)
27 Nov
7 days 11 hours
109 earthquakes
2009
S20091231.1(13.4km)
31 Dec
1 day 18 hours
54 earthquakes
2010
S20100114.1(20.2km)
13 Jan
11 days 8 hours
443 earthquakes
S20100302.1(26.4km)
1 Mar
5 days 11 hours
44 earthquakes
S20100424.1(19.9km)
23 Apr
2 days 15 hours
41 earthquakes
18 Oct
2 days 0 hours
40 earthquakes
S20101024.1(11.8km)
23 Oct
7 days 5 hours
92 earthquakes
S20101125.1(17.8km)
25 Nov
1 day 13 hours
36 earthquakes
S20101202.1(11.4km)
1 Dec
1 day 12 hours
30 earthquakes
2011
28 Jul
2 days 6 hours
40 earthquakes
2012
S20120106.1(24.8km)
6 Jan
2 days 18 hours
48 earthquakes
15 Oct
5 days 7 hours
74 earthquakes
S20121024.1(19.0km)
23 Oct
6 days 5 hours
80 earthquakes
S20121127.1(27.4km)
26 Nov
24 days 0 hours
802 earthquakes
2013
S20130321.1(18.8km)
20 Mar
4 days 15 hours
80 earthquakes
S20130406.1(18.6km)
5 Apr
3 days 20 hours
59 earthquakes
S20130611.1(24.1km)
10 Jun
3 days 18 hours
43 earthquakes
S20130812.1(11.8km)
11 Aug
2 days 13 hours
64 earthquakes
2014
S20140321.1(16.6km)
20 Mar
1 day 19 hours
35 earthquakes
2015
S20150217.1(23.6km)
16 Feb
11 days 1 hours
139 earthquakes
1 Jun
1 day 6 hours
36 earthquakes
S20150608.1(29.6km)
8 Jun
1 day 13 hours
31 earthquakes
2016
S20160331.1(20.5km)
30 Mar
1 day 14 hours
27 earthquakes
S20160813.1(10.2km)
12 Aug
2 days 10 hours
46 earthquakes
S20160821.1(18.6km)
20 Aug
2 days 0 hours
37 earthquakes
S20161206.1(17.6km)
5 Dec
6 days 9 hours
75 earthquakes
2017
S20170521.1(17.9km)
20 May
1 day 16 hours
35 earthquakes
S20170608.1(20.2km)
8 Jun
3 days 3 hours
52 earthquakes
2018
S20181130.1(14.7km)
29 Nov
2 days 17 hours
51 earthquakes
2019
S20190318.1(19.5km)
17 Mar
4 days 6 hours
102 earthquakes
S20190511.1(21.6km)
10 May
5 days 12 hours
90 earthquakes
S20190705.2(28.0km)
4 Jul
29 days 2 hours
2446 earthquakes
5 Jul
12 days 23 hours
643 earthquakes
5 Jul
7 days 1 hours
190 earthquakes
S20190708.2(25.9km)
7 Jul
4 days 17 hours
70 earthquakes
S20190712.1(14.6km)
11 Jul
16 hours
29 earthquakes
S20190721.1(27.6km)
20 Jul
9 days 5 hours
474 earthquakes
S20190803.1(13.8km)
2 Aug
2 days 8 hours
77 earthquakes
S20190804.1(11.9km)
4 Aug
41 days 17 hours
1154 earthquakes
14 Aug
2 days 19 hours
120 earthquakes
19 Aug
1 day 7 hours
38 earthquakes
20 Aug
3 days 6 hours
383 earthquakes
S20190825.1(11.6km)
24 Aug
3 days 7 hours
165 earthquakes
2 Sep
1 day 14 hours
76 earthquakes
4 Sep
3 days 10 hours
79 earthquakes
S20190910.1(19.1km)
10 Sep
3 days 21 hours
145 earthquakes
S20190915.1(13.7km)
14 Sep
25 days 14 hours
387 earthquakes
17 Sep
14 days 12 hours
471 earthquakes
S20191005.1(10.2km)
5 Oct
3 days 16 hours
147 earthquakes
6 Oct
1 day 16 hours
48 earthquakes
10 Oct
4 days 18 hours
165 earthquakes
17 Oct
21 days 21 hours
614 earthquakes
7 Nov
9 days 8 hours
234 earthquakes
S20191116.2(22.9km)
16 Nov
3 days 4 hours
90 earthquakes
18 Nov
10 days 3 hours
223 earthquakes
S20191201.1(26.9km)
30 Nov
27 days 2 hours
353 earthquakes
10 Dec
2 days 14 hours
78 earthquakes
14 Dec
1 day 17 hours
43 earthquakes
2020
1 Jan
7 days 0 hours
130 earthquakes
S20200107.2(22.6km)
7 Jan
11 days 11 hours
163 earthquakes
8 Jan
23 hours
27 earthquakes
S20200208.1(27.5km)
7 Feb
1 day 19 hours
44 earthquakes
18 Feb
3 days 4 hours
87 earthquakes
S20200228.1(13.2km)
27 Feb
7 days 2 hours
113 earthquakes
S20200307.1(28.8km)
6 Mar
10 days 22 hours
145 earthquakes
8 Mar
12 days 22 hours
242 earthquakes
S20200322.1(22.2km)
21 Mar
10 days 13 hours
140 earthquakes
S20200324.1(27.9km)
23 Mar
6 days 13 hours
82 earthquakes
2 Apr
3 days 6 hours
67 earthquakes
22 Apr
2 days 13 hours
45 earthquakes
S20200509.2(25.5km)
8 May
3 days 23 hours
49 earthquakes
20 May
4 days 3 hours
97 earthquakes
26 May
3 days 23 hours
82 earthquakes
12 Jun
15 days 8 hours
334 earthquakes
7 Jul
13 days 9 hours
239 earthquakes
S20200727.1(24.8km)
27 Jul
13 days 20 hours
183 earthquakes
21 Aug
4 days 6 hours
66 earthquakes
26 Aug
25 days 23 hours
356 earthquakes
2 Oct
25 days 20 hours
320 earthquakes
9 Oct
3 days 6 hours
59 earthquakes
12 Nov
13 days 17 hours
181 earthquakes
2021
S20210404.1(10.5km)
3 Apr
11 days 13 hours
124 earthquakes
S20210616.1(23.0km)
15 Jun
4 days 20 hours
83 earthquakes
19 Aug
19 days 14 hours
212 earthquakes
S20211029.2(25.1km)
29 Oct
3 days 9 hours
48 earthquakes
S20211219.1(28.5km)
18 Dec
13 days 0 hours
143 earthquakes
2022
25 Jan
2 days 8 hours
59 earthquakes
S20220204.1(14.7km)
3 Feb
3 days 0 hours
45 earthquakes
7 Jun
1 day 20 hours
34 earthquakes
S20220715.1(23.5km)
14 Jul
4 days 3 hours
55 earthquakes
2023
2 May
1 day 6 hours
32 earthquakes
2024
S20240811.1(10.1km)
10 Aug
5 days 16 hours
78 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Earthquake Swarm S20200212.1: A Detailed Examination of Seismic Activity Near Searles Valley, California

An earthquake swarm designated S20200212.1 was recorded 15 km southwest of Searles Valley, California. The sequence began at 04:03 on 11 February 2020 and concluded at 21:30 on 28 September 2020, spanning 5537 hours and 27 minutes. During this period, 4310 earthquakes were detected, providing valuable data on regional seismicity within the Mojave Desert.

The Searles Valley area lies in the Eastern California Shear Zone, a network of active faults that accommodates approximately 20-25% of the Pacific-North American plate boundary motion. This tectonic setting features right-lateral strike-slip faults and contributes to the region's elevated seismic hazard. Nearby structures include segments of the Garlock Fault, which bounds the southern Sierra Nevada and has produced significant historical ruptures. The local geology comprises Quaternary lake deposits from ancient Searles Lake, underlain by Precambrian basement rocks and Tertiary volcanic units, creating conditions conducive to both tectonic and induced seismicity.

Seismic swarms have been recurrent in this locale. Since 1 January 2000, 84 swarms have occurred. Yearly counts include five in 2000, four in 2001, one in 2002, seven in 2004, one in 2005, five in 2006, one in 2009, seven in 2010, one in 2011, four in 2012, four in 2013, one in 2014, three in 2015, four in 2016, two in 2017, one in 2018, 29 in 2019, and four in 2020. These events reflect persistent strain accumulation and release along distributed faults.

Analysis of the first events in swarm S20200212.1 reveals predominantly low-magnitude activity. On 11 February 2020, recorded magnitudes ranged from -0.4 to 1.7, with focal depths between 5 and 11 km. Subsequent events through 14 February maintained similar characteristics, with magnitudes mostly below 1.8 and depths clustered around 3 to 12 km. The initial 80-plus events exhibited a mix of positive and negative magnitudes, indicating microseismicity typical of swarm sequences driven by fluid migration or aseismic slip rather than a single large mainshock.

This swarm occurred in the aftermath of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, which included magnitude 6.4 and 7.1 events located nearby. The prolonged duration and high event count of S20200212.1 suggest it represents continued post-seismic relaxation within the same fault network. Depths consistently in the upper crust align with the brittle-ductile transition zone in this arid, tectonically active region.

Overall, the data underscore the value of dense seismic monitoring for understanding swarm dynamics in the Eastern California Shear Zone. Continued observation remains essential for assessing evolving hazards in this portion of the Mojave Desert.

References

USGS Earthquake Catalog
California Geological Survey Fault Database
SeismoSight internal swarm classification records