Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA, at 10:57 am PDT on 14 March 2018 (17:57 UTC), 3.0 km deep.
USGS: 23km E of Little Lake, CA
- When
- 10:57 am PDT on 14 March 2018 ()
- Where
- 36 km (22 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 72 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Airport Lake fault, 11 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 3031 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ridgecrest, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ridgecrest, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 36 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Searles Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 37 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 20 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 33 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 18 km S 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 35.9422, -117.6528. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 11km NE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.6 37km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.8 29km ENE of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 33km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 16km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 7km E of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.8 7km WNW of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 11km S of Olancha, CA
- 1.5 30km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.6 16km E of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 7km SSW of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.8 39km E of Olancha, CA
- 2.5 7km SSW 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.