QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.7mw

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 4.7 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA, at 5:42 pm PDT on 25 July 2019 (00:42 UTC), 3.8 km deep. 123 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18km E of Little Lake, CA

5:42 pm PDT, Jul 25, 2019 · · 3.8 km deep · released about 190 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 76 kmTulare County 102 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
5:42 pm PDT on 25 July 2019 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
Magnitude
M 4.7 (mw)
Depth
3.8 km below the surface
Felt
123 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity VI (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Inyo County, 76 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Airport Lake fault, 8 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 1864 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 164 km (102 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 34 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 32 km, intensity III · Ridgecrest 34 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 870× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 39× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 28× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.7 about 190 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 410× 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 3,500 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 · 19 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 · 17 km SSE 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 35.9258, -117.7067. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 76 km (47 mi) NNE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 102 km (64 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 113 km (70 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 21km ESE of Little Lake, CA
  2. 1.7 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  3. 1.7 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
  4. 1.5 13km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
  5. 2.0 17km E of Little Lake, CA
  6. 3.2 18km E of Little Lake, CA
  7. 1.6 19km E of Little Lake, CA
  8. 1.7 18km E of Little Lake, CA
  9. 2.1 22km E of Little Lake, CA
  10. 1.7 10km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
  11. 1.5 21km E of Coso Junction, CA
  12. 2.4 14km SW of Searles Valley, CA
  13. 1.7 22km ENE of Little Lake, CA
  14. 2.0 18km E of Ridgecrest, CA
  15. 1.9 14km WSW of Searles Valley, 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.