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Location:
15km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
Period:
21 Feb 2020 20:18:11 - 27 Feb 2020 17:06:22 (5 days 20 hours 48 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
None
Earthquakes:
94
34 swarms found nearby.
2013
3 May
1 day 22 hours
37 earthquakes
2019
4 Jul
221 days 12 hours
22493 earthquakes
4 Jul
75 days 9 hours
8149 earthquakes
S20190708.2(25.7km)
7 Jul
4 days 17 hours
70 earthquakes
S20190712.1(22.5km)
11 Jul
16 hours
29 earthquakes
S20190812.1(11.7km)
12 Aug
3 days 6 hours
50 earthquakes
S20190825.1(25.7km)
24 Aug
3 days 7 hours
165 earthquakes
8 Sep
1 day 13 hours
47 earthquakes
S20190910.1(18.0km)
10 Sep
3 days 21 hours
145 earthquakes
1 Oct
4 days 13 hours
127 earthquakes
S20191005.1(27.0km)
5 Oct
3 days 16 hours
147 earthquakes
5 Oct
1 day 18 hours
26 earthquakes
13 Oct
1 day 23 hours
36 earthquakes
15 Oct
2 days 23 hours
108 earthquakes
30 Nov
2 days 16 hours
49 earthquakes
1 Dec
9 days 6 hours
252 earthquakes
13 Dec
22 hours
27 earthquakes
15 Dec
6 days 12 hours
188 earthquakes
22 Dec
10 days 4 hours
196 earthquakes
2020
10 Jan
22 days 10 hours
422 earthquakes
22 Jan
17 hours
24 earthquakes
7 Feb
1 day 19 hours
44 earthquakes
12 Feb
5 days 22 hours
159 earthquakes
S20200322.1(14.9km)
21 Mar
10 days 13 hours
140 earthquakes
14 Apr
7 days 19 hours
130 earthquakes
8 May
3 days 21 hours
69 earthquakes
25 May
1 day 7 hours
31 earthquakes
3 Jun
9 days 16 hours
525 earthquakes
S20200708.3(29.7km)
7 Jul
13 days 9 hours
239 earthquakes
S20200727.1(12.5km)
27 Jul
13 days 20 hours
183 earthquakes
13 Aug
7 days 2 hours
81 earthquakes
21 Sep
5 days 2 hours
99 earthquakes
2021
S20210404.1(26.8km)
3 Apr
11 days 13 hours
124 earthquakes
2022
S20220715.1(13.8km)
14 Jul
4 days 3 hours
55 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm S20200222.1: Analysis of Activity Near Searles Valley, California

A seismic swarm designated S20200222.1 was recorded 15 km south-southwest of Searles Valley, California. The sequence began at 20:18 UTC on 21 February 2020 and concluded at 17:06 UTC on 27 February 2020, spanning 140 hours and 48 minutes. During this period, 94 earthquakes were registered, with magnitudes ranging from -0.1 to 3.2 and focal depths primarily between 1 km and 10 km.

The swarm exhibited typical characteristics of clustered microseismicity, with events distributed across shallow crustal depths. The largest event reached magnitude 3.2 on 25 February 2020 at a depth of 5 km. Earlier activity included several events above magnitude 1.5, such as a magnitude 2.4 on 23 February and a magnitude 1.9 on 22 February. Depths showed modest variation, with many events concentrated between 5 km and 9 km, consistent with brittle failure in the upper crust.

Searles Valley lies within the Mojave Desert section of the Eastern California Shear Zone, a region of distributed right-lateral shear between the San Andreas Fault and the Basin and Range province. The local geology features Quaternary sediments overlying Mesozoic basement rocks, with active faulting influenced by the nearby Garlock Fault and the broader network of northwest-trending strike-slip faults. This tectonic setting accommodates Pacific-North American plate motion through a series of discontinuous faults rather than a single master structure.

Seismic swarms are recurrent in this area. Since 1 January 2000, 23 swarms have been documented, including one in 2013, 18 in 2019, and four in 2020. The 2019 Ridgecrest sequence, located nearby, highlighted the potential for larger events within the same fault network, though the 2020 swarm remained limited to small magnitudes.

Analysis of the provided event list indicates a gradual increase in activity through 22–25 February, followed by a decline. Most events clustered in time and space, supporting a model of fluid migration or aseismic slip triggering successive failures on closely spaced fractures. No events exceeded magnitude 3.2, and the sequence produced no reported damage.

References

USGS Earthquake Catalog
California Geological Survey, Fault Activity Map of California
Southern California Earthquake Data Center, Regional Tectonic Summaries