Location:

Period:

7 Sep 2000 08:45:57 - 8 Sep 2000 07:56:35 (23 hours 10 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Ubehebe Craters(82km)

Earthquakes:

3 swarms found nearby.

2008

S20081005.1(26.4km)

5 Oct

27 days 12 hours

359 earthquakes

2010

S20100202.1(26.4km)

1 Feb

3 days 5 hours

44 earthquakes

2013

S20130211.1(16.7km)

11 Feb

1 day 22 hours

34 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm S20000908.1 Near Furnace Creek, California

Seismic swarm S20000908.1 was recorded 28 km northeast of Furnace Creek, California, between 08:45 on 7 September 2000 and 07:56 on 8 September 2000. Over 23 hours and 10 minutes, the sequence comprised 25 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from −0.6 to 1.4 and focal depths between 0 and 15 km. The events clustered tightly in both space and time, characteristic of swarm behavior rather than a mainshock-aftershock sequence.

The swarm initiated with a magnitude −0.1 event at 9 km depth, followed within minutes by two additional microearthquakes. Activity remained low until early afternoon, when a magnitude 1.4 shock at 9 km depth marked the peak magnitude of the sequence. Subsequent events maintained depths predominantly between 9 and 12 km, with one shallow event recorded at 0 km. Magnitudes stayed below 1.0 for the remainder of the swarm, which concluded with a magnitude 0.6 event at 9 km depth.

Furnace Creek lies within Death Valley National Park, part of the Eastern California Shear Zone. This region accommodates approximately 20–25 % of the relative motion between the Pacific and North American plates through a network of northwest-trending strike-slip and normal faults. The Furnace Creek Fault, a major right-lateral structure, bounds the northern margin of Death Valley and has produced surface-rupturing earthquakes in the Holocene. Ongoing extension and strike-slip motion generate frequent microseismicity, including swarms, throughout the valley and adjacent ranges.

Historical records document similar swarm activity in the Death Valley region, often associated with fluid migration or aseismic slip transients along fault segments. Although no surface rupture or damage was reported from swarm S20000908.1, such episodes contribute to the long-term strain budget and help delineate active fault strands at depth.

Seismic monitoring in the area has improved since 2000 with expanded station coverage by the Southern California Seismic Network and the Nevada Seismological Laboratory. Current catalogs continue to register low-magnitude events near Furnace Creek, underscoring the persistent tectonic activity of the region.

References

United States Geological Survey Earthquake Catalog
California Geological Survey, Fault Activity Map of California
Southern California Earthquake Data Center, Death Valley regional seismicity reports