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Location:
17km S of Searles Valley, CA
Period:
3 Jun 2020 02:04:49 - 12 Jun 2020 18:19:24 (9 days 16 hours 14 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
None
Earthquakes:
525
38 swarms found nearby.
2013
3 May
1 day 22 hours
37 earthquakes
2015
S20150602.1(26.5km)
1 Jun
1 day 6 hours
36 earthquakes
2019
4 Jul
221 days 12 hours
22493 earthquakes
4 Jul
75 days 9 hours
8149 earthquakes
S20190708.2(21.3km)
7 Jul
4 days 17 hours
70 earthquakes
S20190712.1(18.8km)
11 Jul
16 hours
29 earthquakes
S20190812.1(15.8km)
12 Aug
3 days 6 hours
50 earthquakes
S20190825.1(21.9km)
24 Aug
3 days 7 hours
165 earthquakes
8 Sep
1 day 13 hours
47 earthquakes
S20190910.1(14.3km)
10 Sep
3 days 21 hours
145 earthquakes
1 Oct
4 days 13 hours
127 earthquakes
S20191005.1(23.2km)
5 Oct
3 days 16 hours
147 earthquakes
S20191006.1(11.0km)
5 Oct
1 day 18 hours
26 earthquakes
S20191014.1(10.8km)
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
S20200101.1(27.3km)
1 Jan
7 days 0 hours
130 earthquakes
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
21 Feb
5 days 20 hours
94 earthquakes
S20200322.1(11.2km)
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
S20200708.3(26.0km)
7 Jul
13 days 9 hours
239 earthquakes
27 Jul
13 days 20 hours
183 earthquakes
13 Aug
7 days 2 hours
81 earthquakes
21 Sep
5 days 2 hours
99 earthquakes
S20201113.2(29.9km)
12 Nov
13 days 17 hours
181 earthquakes
2021
S20210404.1(23.0km)
3 Apr
11 days 13 hours
124 earthquakes
2022
S20220715.1(10.9km)
14 Jul
4 days 3 hours
55 earthquakes
2023
S20230503.1(26.4km)
2 May
1 day 6 hours
32 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm S20200604.1 Near Searles Valley, California

Seismic swarm S20200604.1 occurred in a tectonically active region of the Mojave Desert, approximately 17 km south of Searles Valley, California. The swarm initiated at 02:04 on 3 June 2020 and concluded at 18:19 on 12 June 2020, spanning 232 hours and 14 minutes. During this period, 525 earthquakes were recorded. Analysis of the first 100 events reveals predominantly shallow depths between 2 km and 16 km, with magnitudes ranging from 0.0 to 5.5. A notable M5.5 event occurred at 01:32 on 4 June 2020 at 8 km depth, followed by numerous aftershocks clustered around 8–10 km depth.

The swarm reflects typical behavior in the Eastern California Shear Zone, where distributed strike-slip faulting accommodates Pacific-North American plate motion. Searles Valley lies near the intersection of the Garlock Fault and northwest-trending faults linked to the 2019 Ridgecrest sequence. The local geology features Quaternary alluvial deposits overlying crystalline basement rocks, with Searles Lake basin sediments providing evidence of Pleistocene lake-level fluctuations driven by climate and tectonic subsidence.

Historical records indicate 30 swarms in the area since 2000, with elevated activity in 2019 (18 swarms) and 2020 (10 swarms). These swarms often occur in clusters along fault segments that experienced stress perturbations from the Ridgecrest mainshocks. Depths in the current swarm align with the brittle-ductile transition zone in this region, where temperatures and pressures favor small-magnitude events.

The sequence demonstrates classic swarm characteristics: no single dominant mainshock, rapid onset, and gradual decay. Magnitudes in the initial events remained below 2.0 until the M5.5 trigger, after which activity included multiple events above M2.0 within the first hours. Such patterns are consistent with fluid migration or aseismic slip along pre-existing fractures in the shear zone.

Geological Context and Regional History

The Searles Valley area forms part of the Basin and Range Province transition into the Mojave block. The Garlock Fault, a major left-lateral structure, bounds the northern margin and has produced surface-rupturing events in the Holocene. Southward, the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes (M6.4 and M7.1) reactivated a network of previously unmapped faults, increasing regional seismicity rates that persisted into 2020. Updated USGS assessments confirm that post-2019 aftershock zones overlap with the 2020 swarm location, suggesting continued stress adjustment.

Seismic hazard in this sparsely populated desert region remains moderate, with potential for larger events on the Garlock Fault estimated at M7.0+. Paleoseismic studies document multiple surface ruptures over the past 10,000 years, underscoring long-term tectonic activity.

References

  • United States Geological Survey Earthquake Catalog (earthquake.usgs.gov)
  • California Geological Survey Fault Activity Map
  • SCEC Community Fault Model documentation