QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 7.1mw

Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence

Yes. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake was recorded in Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence, at 8:19 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 (03:19 UTC), 8.0 km deep. 39,888 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 8.0 km deep · released about 670 kilotons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 90 kmKern County 113 kmTulare County 118 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
Magnitude
M 7.1 (mw)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
39,888 reports · strongest reported intensity IX
Measured shaking
intensity IX (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
yellow
Nearest
Inyo County, 90 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Airport Lake fault, 12 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 70 days ago

This was a major earthquake. Serious damage is likely near the epicentre. Follow official information from USGS and local authorities.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 614 km (382 mi) from the epicentre. 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 18 km, intensity VII · Searles Valley 18 km, intensity VII. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 670 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 8.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Great Alaska earthquake 1964 M 9.2 1,400× the energy of this one
  2. Tōhoku, Japan 2011 M 9.1 1,000× the energy of this one
  3. San Francisco 1906 M 7.9 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 7.1 about 670 kilotons of TNT
  5. Loma Prieta, California 1989 M 6.9 this one released 2× more
  6. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 this one released 4× 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2019-07-04.

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 35.7695, -117.5993. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 90 km (56 mi) N earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 113 km (70 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 118 km (73 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. 4.0 15km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  2. 3.8 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  3. 4.1 17km E of Ridgecrest, CA
  4. 3.9 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  5. 4.2 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  6. 3.7 19km S of Trona, CA
  7. 3.6 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  8. 3.3 24km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  9. 3.9 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  10. 4.0 20km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  11. 3.5 13km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  12. 3.6 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  13. 3.5 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  14. 3.9 19km E of Little Lake, CA
  15. 3.5 18km ESE of Little Lake, 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.