QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) south-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA, at 3:41 pm PDT on 17 July 2019 (22:41 UTC), 2.9 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 19km W of Johannesburg, CA

3:41 pm PDT, Jul 17, 2019 · · 2.9 km deep · released about 1.1 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Ridgecrest Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 81 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
3:41 pm PDT on 17 July 2019 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) south-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
2.9 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kern County, 81 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 1877 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 49 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 32 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 30 km, intensity II · Ridgecrest 32 km, intensity II · Boron 45 km, intensity II · Mojave 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.3× 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 620,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 27 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 34 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 35.3718, -117.8415. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 81 km (50 mi) W earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 128 km (79 mi) NW earthquakes near Tulare County
Ventura County, CA 163 km (101 mi) SW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 19km W of Johannesburg, CA
  2. 1.6 14km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  3. 1.7 19km W of Johannesburg, CA
  4. 2.2 11km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  5. 1.6 20km SSW of Trona, CA
  6. 2.0 16km W of Searles Valley, CA
  7. 1.7 24km NNE of California City, CA
  8. 2.0 12km NE of Ridgecrest, CA
  9. 2.7 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  10. 1.6 12km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  11. 2.0 24km NNE of California City, CA
  12. 1.5 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  13. 1.8 14km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  14. 1.8 14km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  15. 2.0 8km E of Ridgecrest, 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.