Historedia
AmericasEvent

Lone Pine earthquake in eastern California

When
1872
Where
Owens Valley
Episodes
1

The Lone Pine earthquake struck eastern California on March 26, 1872, at 2:30 a.m. local time. Estimated at Mw 7.4 to 7.9, it reached a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The event nearly destroyed the town of Lone Pine, resulting in 27 deaths and 56 injuries.

Episodes

  1. 1872-03-26 · Owens Valley1872 Lone Pine Earthquake

    A major earthquake struck near Lone Pine, causing significant destruction and casualties.

Background and detail

Background. The earthquake occurred in the Owens Valley, along the east side of the Sierra Nevada, with its epicenter near the town of Lone Pine. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit California in recorded history, similar in strength to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Geological Cause. The seismic event resulted from sudden vertical movement of 15 to 20 feet and right-lateral movement of 35 to 40 feet on the Lone Pine Fault and part of the Owens Valley Fault. Researchers later estimated that similar earthquakes occur on the Lone Pine fault every 3,000 to 4,000 years.

Memorial. The Grave of 1872 Earthquake Victims is designated as California Historical Landmark number 507, assigned on July 31, 1953. The landmark commemorates the major earthquake that shook Owens Valley and nearly destroyed the town of Lone Pine.

Sources

  1. 1872 Owens Valley earthquake Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-01

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.