Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6ml
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 3.6 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA, at 11:49 pm PDT on 18 June 2023 (06:49 UTC), 6.8 km deep. 22 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 32km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
82 km (51 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 11:49 pm PDT on 18 June 2023 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 22 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 56 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 9 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 1081 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 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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 45 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: Bodfish 33 km, intensity II · Wofford Heights 36 km, intensity II · California City 44 km, intensity II · Ridgecrest 45 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 49 km, intensity II · Mojave 50 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 3.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 50,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.4 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.2× 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 4.8 on 2019-07-06 — about 70 times the energy of this one.
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 · 29 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 33 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 42 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 34 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 35.4980, -118.1450. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 136 km (84 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
28 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.5 12 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 13 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 15 km WSW of Little Lake, CA
- 2.0 32 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.4 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 12 km ENE of Kernville, CA
- 1.9 13 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 13 km W of Mojave, CA
- 1.6 21 km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 25 km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 13 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 24 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.4 12 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 20 km NW of Inyokern, CA
- 1.7 22 km SSW 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.