Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.3mw
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 4.3 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA, at 10:34 pm PDT on 22 August 2019 (05:34 UTC), 7.1 km deep. 109 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18km E of Little Lake, CA
- When
- 10:34 pm PDT on 22 August 2019 ()
- Where
- 32 km (20 mi) north of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 4.3 (mw)
- Depth
- 7.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 109 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Inyo County, 78 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Airport Lake fault, 6 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 1862 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ridgecrest, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ridgecrest, 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 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 124 km (77 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 32 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 31 km, intensity III · Ridgecrest 32 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 47 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 3,600× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 160× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.3 about 47 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 99× 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 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 31 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 17 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 28 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 15 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 35.9078, -117.7047. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 112 km (69 mi) | WSW | 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.
- 3.1 20km NW of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.4 14km SSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.3 14km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.6 7km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.9 20km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.3 17km S of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.9 20km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 3.5 19km SSW of Trona, CA
- 1.7 23km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.7 14km WSW of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.4 28km N of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.5 16km W of Searles Valley, CA
- 1.5 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.1 10km NE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 2.3 19km E of Little Lake, 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.