Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near California City, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in California City in the 24 hours to 3:50 pm PST (23:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) NE, at 1:44 pm PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near California City
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) north of California City, CA, at 6:58 pm PDT on 9 July 2019 (01:58 UTC), 2.0 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 25km N of California City, CA
- When
- 6:58 pm PDT on 9 July 2019 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) north of California City, CA · earthquakes near California City
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 72 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Garlock fault, 2 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 1808 days ago
Earthquake alerts for California City, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near California City, 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In California City, 25 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: California City 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 630 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 lb of TNT
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 4.8 on 2019-07-06 — about 760 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 40 km N of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 20 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 49 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 48 km W of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 42 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 35.3468, -117.9323. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 155 km (96 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
5 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 23km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 2.2 25km N of California City, CA
- 1.9 12km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.9 3km WNW of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.6 26km N of California City, 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.