Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 5.0mlr
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 5.0 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA, at 8:50 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 (03:50 UTC), 8.3 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 19km E of Little Lake, CA
- When
- 8:50 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 ()
- Where
- 31 km (19 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 5.0 (mlr)
- Depth
- 8.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 78 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Airport Lake 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 2554 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 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 189 km (117 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 31 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: Searles Valley 31 km, intensity IV · Ridgecrest 31 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 430 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 390× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 5.0 about 430 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 900× 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 7.1 on 2019-07-06 — about 1,600 times the energy of this one.
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 · 31 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 17 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 27 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 15 km SSE 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 35.9035, -117.7002. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 104 km (64 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 112 km (69 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern 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.
- 3.0 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 3.6 17km E of Little Lake, CA
- 3.7 21km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 4.7 16km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 3.2 17km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 3.2 19km S of Trona, CA
- 3.8 21km S of Trona, CA
- 3.1 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 3.9 18km E of Little Lake, CA
- 3.0 23km N of Ridgecrest, CA
- 3.5 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.8 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.9 17km WNW of Searles Valley, CA
- 3.1 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 3.1 21km S of Trona, 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.