QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Searles Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Searles Valley in the 24 hours to 11:39 am PST (19:39 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 21 km (13 mi) N, at 11:15 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Searles Valley

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Searles Valley, CA, at 1:39 pm PDT on 10 July 2019 (20:39 UTC), 2.3 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18km SSW of Searles Valley, CA

1:39 pm PDT, Jul 10, 2019 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 630 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Searles Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 106 kmKern 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
1:39 pm PDT on 10 July 2019 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Searles Valley, CA · earthquakes near Searles Valley
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Inyo County, 106 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Garlock fault, 16 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 1799 days ago

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 Searles Valley, 18 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: Searles Valley 18 km, intensity II · Ridgecrest 19 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
  4. 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 7.1 on 2019-07-06 — about 2,100,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 22 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 25 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 35.6147, -117.4662. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 106 km (66 mi) N earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 118 km (73 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 137 km (85 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County
San Bernardino County, CA 144 km (89 mi) SE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 15km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  2. 1.8 9km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  3. 2.7 13km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  4. 1.7 18km E of Ridgecrest, CA
  5. 1.8 32km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  6. 1.6 32km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  7. 1.8 24km N of Searles Valley, CA
  8. 1.5 14km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  9. 1.8 18km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  10. 2.0 23km N of Ridgecrest, CA
  11. 1.7 14km S of Searles Valley, CA
  12. 1.6 14km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  13. 1.6 14km S of Trona, CA
  14. 1.5 13km NE of Ridgecrest, CA
  15. 2.0 22km 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.