Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA, at 1:49 am PDT on 23 March 2018 (08:49 UTC), 7.7 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18km W of Johannesburg, CA
- When
- 1:49 am PDT on 23 March 2018 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 82 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Garlock fault, under 1 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 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 39 km (24 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.
Likely felt in: Ridgecrest 29 km, intensity II · California City 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 290,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.2× more
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 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 36 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 44 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 31 km N 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 35.3965, -117.8250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 82 km (51 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 126 km (79 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 166 km (103 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
37 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 5km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.5 4km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.9 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 18km W of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.9 5km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.8 22km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 18km W of Johannesburg, CA
- 2.7 18km W of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.8 24km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.0 11km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.8 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.5 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 17km ENE of Boron, CA
- 1.7 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
- 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.