QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Ridgecrest, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Ridgecrest in the last 24 hours. M 1.5, 7 km (4 mi) E of Ridgecrest, at 3:54 am PST on 12 November 2026 (11:54 UTC); the estimated shaking in Ridgecrest was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Ridgecrest

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) north-northwest of Ridgecrest, CA, at 8:08 pm PST on 20 November 2017 (04:08 UTC), 4.2 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 12km SE of Little Lake, CA

8:08 pm PST, Nov 20, 2017 · · 4.2 km deep · released about 420 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ridgecrest Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 86 kmTulare County 96 kmKern County 100 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
8:08 pm PST on 20 November 2017 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) north-northwest of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
4.2 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Inyo County, 86 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Little Lake fault, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3278 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 29 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Inyokern, China Lake Acres.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 420 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 36,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 21 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 19 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 19 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 20 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 17 km SE of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 35.8592, -117.8150. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 86 km (54 mi) NNE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 96 km (60 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 100 km (62 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 11km ESE of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 1.6 6km E of Coso Junction, CA
  3. 2.3 18km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
  4. 2.5 30km N of Searles Valley, CA
  5. 1.8 17km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
  6. 1.5 17km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
  7. 2.1 21km NNE of Trona, CA
  8. 2.0 39km E of Olancha, CA
  9. 1.6 14km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  10. 1.9 24km E of Coso Junction, CA
  11. 2.1 20km SE of Little Lake, CA
  12. 3.3 17km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
  13. 1.6 31km N of Searles Valley, CA
  14. 2.4 30km N of Searles Valley, CA
  15. 2.1 17km NNE of Coso Junction, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.