QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 5.4mw

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 5.4 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA, at 9:18 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 (04:18 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 33 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 20km E of Little Lake, CA

9:18 pm PDT, Jul 5, 2019 · · 7.4 km deep · released about 2.2 kilotons of TNT

Every earthquake near Ridgecrest Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 77 kmTulare County 105 kmKern County 113 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
9:18 pm PDT on 5 July 2019 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
Magnitude
M 5.4 (mw)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
33 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Measured shaking
intensity VII (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Inyo County, 77 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Airport Lake fault, 7 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 325 days ago

This was a moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 252 km (157 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 32 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 30 km, intensity IV · Ridgecrest 32 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.2 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 78× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3.5× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 5.4 about 2.2 kilotons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4,600× 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 310 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 33 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 17 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 31 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 15 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 35.9102, -117.6848. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 77 km (48 mi) NNE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 105 km (65 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 113 km (70 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.

  1. 3.2 12km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  2. 2.7 18km E of Little Lake, CA
  3. 3.2 19km S of Trona, CA
  4. 2.6 15km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  5. 2.8 17km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  6. 3.2 14km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  7. 3.1 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  8. 3.5 16km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  9. 3.2 20km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  10. 3.6 23km N of Ridgecrest, CA
  11. 3.0 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  12. 3.0 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  13. 3.3 17km E of Little Lake, CA
  14. 2.9 17km E of Little Lake, CA
  15. 2.8 19km 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.