Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Inyokern, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Inyokern in the 24 hours to 6:48 am PST (14:48 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Inyokern, CA, at 1:43 am PDT on 9 August 2019 (08:43 UTC), 7.9 km deep.
USGS: 6km WSW of Inyokern, CA
- When
- 1:43 am PDT on 9 August 2019 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Inyokern, CA · earthquakes near Inyokern
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 83 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 3 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 2652 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Inyokern, 6 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: China Lake Acres, Ridgecrest.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 130,000,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 11 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 26 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 49 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 13 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 8 km NE 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 35.6180, -117.8705. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 18km E of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.8 15km SW of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.1 13km S of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.2 17km W of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.9 22km N of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.6 17km W of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.9 19km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 17km W of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.6 24km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.3 15km W of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.2 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.8 27km S of Trona, CA
- 1.9 20km W of Johannesburg, CA
- 2.1 13km NE 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
- 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.