Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.2ml
Earthquake near Ridgecrest, CA
USGS: 6 km E of Ridgecrest, CA
- When
- 1:14 pm PDT on 2 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) E of Ridgecrest, CA · earthquakes near Ridgecrest
- Magnitude
- M 1.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 106 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Little Lake fault, 7 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 5 hours ago
A magnitude 1.2 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) E of Ridgecrest, CA, at 1:14 pm PDT on 2 October 2026 (20:14 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: China Lake Acres, Inyokern, Searles Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 560× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.2 about 1.7 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 790,000,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 32 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 16 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 32 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 18 km NNW 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 35.6213, -117.6082. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Inyo County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | N | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 125 km (78 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.1 21 km N of Searles Valley, CA
- 2.1 21 km N of Searles Valley, CA
- 0.6 20 km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 0.7 22 km ESE 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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| review status | automatic | reviewed | |
| longitude | -117.61 | -117.61 | |
| latitude | 35.62 | 35.62 | |
| depth | 8.21 | 8.4 | |
| magnitude | 1.2 | 1.17 | |
| longitude | -117.61 | -117.61 | |
| latitude | 35.62 | 35.62 | |
| depth | 7.51 | 8.21 | |
| magnitude | 1.42 | 1.2 |
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.