Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Inyokern, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Inyokern in the 24 hours to 12:18 pm PST (20:18 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 38 km (23 mi) S, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Inyokern
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Inyokern, CA, at 12:59 pm PDT on 12 April 2019 (19:59 UTC), 4.9 km deep.
USGS: 5km WNW of Coso Junction, CA
- When
- 12:59 pm PDT on 12 April 2019 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) north-northwest of Inyokern, CA · earthquakes near Inyokern
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 73 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 1 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 2759 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Inyokern, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Inyokern, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Inyokern, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 40 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 38 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 46 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 44 km SE 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 36.0610, -117.9985. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Kern County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | SW | 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.
- 2.0 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.5 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.8 15km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.5 18km W of Olancha, CA
- 1.8 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.7 19km W of Olancha, CA
- 1.9 20km ENE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 15km NNE of Inyokern, CA
- 1.5 27km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.7 27km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 3.3 26km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 26km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.5 26km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 26km ENE of Coso Junction, 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.