Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Ridgecrest, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Ridgecrest in the 24 hours to 1:31 pm PST (21:31 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 7 km (4 mi) E, at 3:54 am PST on 12 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ridgecrest
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) south-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026 (15:01 UTC), 6.8 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- When
- 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) south-southwest of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 84 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Garlock 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 51 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 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Ridgecrest, 37 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: California City 26 km, intensity II · Boron 37 km, intensity II · Ridgecrest 37 km, intensity II · Mojave 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 190,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× 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 5.5 on 2020-06-04 — about 3,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 41 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km NE of Inyokern, CA · 43 km N 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 35.3070, -117.8042. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 135 km (84 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 2.1 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 0.8 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 0.4 14 km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA
- 1.6 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.7 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 0.5 24 km W of Inyokern, CA
- 0.8 24 km W of Inyokern, CA
- 1.1 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.2 6 km E of Ridgecrest, CA
- 0.9 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.0 12 km N of Mojave, CA
- 1.7 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.5 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 2.1 16 km WSW 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.