QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Ridgecrest, CA

USGS: 20km ESE of Johannesburg, CA

6:05 am PDT, Mar 12, 2017 · · 2.6 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ridgecrest Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 117 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
6:05 am PDT on 12 March 2017 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) SSE of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
2.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 117 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Harper fault, 6 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 3426 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) SSE of Ridgecrest, CA, at 6:05 am PDT on 12 March 2017 (13:05 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 35.3005, -117.4387. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 117 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Kern County
San Bernardino County, CA 125 km (77 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  2. 1.6 6km NNW of Boron, CA
  3. 1.6 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  4. 1.8 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  5. 1.6 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  6. 2.0 12km SE of Boron, CA
  7. 1.7 4km NW of Boron, CA
  8. 1.6 5km NW of Boron, CA
  9. 1.7 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  10. 1.7 5km NW of Boron, CA
  11. 1.9 5km NW of Boron, CA
  12. 2.3 27km ESE of Boron, CA
  13. 1.5 6km NNW of Boron, CA
  14. 1.5 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  15. 1.5 5km NW of Boron, 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.