QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.2mw

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 4.2 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east-northeast of Ridgecrest, CA, at 12:56 pm PDT on 4 July 2019 (19:56 UTC), 1.5 km deep. 36 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA

12:56 pm PDT, Jul 4, 2019 · · 1.5 km deep · released about 26 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Ridgecrest Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 101 kmKern County 115 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
12:56 pm PDT on 4 July 2019 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) east-northeast of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
Magnitude
M 4.2 (mw)
Depth
1.5 km below the surface
Felt
36 reports · strongest reported intensity VII
Measured shaking
intensity VI (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Inyo County, 101 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Little Lake fault, 15 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 2604 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 109 km (68 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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 14 km, intensity IV · Searles Valley 16 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 6,500× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.2 about 26 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 55× 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2019-07-04 — about 2,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 38 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 15 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 38 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 27 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 18 km NW 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 35.6623, -117.5240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 101 km (63 mi) N earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 115 km (71 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 130 km (80 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 15km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  2. 1.9 7km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA
  3. 2.0 14km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  4. 2.1 13km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  5. 3.1 10km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  6. 1.7 8km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA
  7. 1.6 8km E of Ridgecrest, CA
  8. 2.2 7km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  9. 1.6 14km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  10. 1.6 12km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  11. 1.9 10km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  12. 1.7 15km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  13. 2.4 15km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  14. 1.8 12km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  15. 2.0 12km WSW of Searles Valley, 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.