Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA, at 10:36 pm PST on 16 December 2020 (06:36 UTC), 8.9 km deep.
USGS: 36km NNW of California City, CA
82 km (51 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 10:36 pm PST on 16 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 54 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada 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 2157 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 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 Ridgecrest, 48 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Weldon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 33 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 38 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 31 km WSW 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 35.4263, -118.1390. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 149 km (93 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
22 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 14km SE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 2.9 21km SSW of Little Lake, CA
- 1.9 23km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 32km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 2.0 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
- 1.7 13km NE of Kernville, CA
- 2.0 21km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.5 11km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.1 32km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.7 17km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 30km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.8 24km W of Johannesburg, CA
- 2.2 24km W of Johannesburg, 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.