QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

Earthquake near China Lake Acres, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in China Lake Acres in the 24 hours to 10:27 am PST (18:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 37 km (23 mi) S, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near China Lake Acres

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north of China Lake Acres, CA, at 10:26 am PDT on 21 August 2026 (17:26 UTC), 2.5 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 10 km ENE of Coso Junction, CA

10:26 am PDT, Aug 21, 2026 · · 2.5 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near China Lake Acres Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 67 kmTulare County 86 kmKern County 113 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:26 am PDT on 21 August 2026 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) north of China Lake Acres, CA · earthquakes near China Lake Acres
Magnitude
M 3.3 (ml)
Depth
2.5 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Inyo County, 67 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 13 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 50 days ago

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 51 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In China Lake Acres, 48 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.7× 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 520,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 39 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 43 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 36 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 36.0685, -117.8418. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 67 km (42 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County
Tulare County, CA 86 km (54 mi) WNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 113 km (70 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.0 11 km N of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 1.6 41 km WSW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
  3. 1.6 24 km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  4. 1.9 25 km NNW of Searles Valley, CA
  5. 2.1 12 km NE of Little Lake, CA
  6. 2.2 4 km WSW of Olancha, CA
  7. 1.9 6 km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  8. 1.5 6 km NE of Coso Junction, CA
  9. 1.7 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
  10. 2.5 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
  11. 2.9 10 km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
  12. 1.5 18 km W of Searles Valley, CA
  13. 1.6 12 km S of Olancha, CA
  14. 1.5 17 km W of Searles Valley, CA
  15. 1.6 23 km N of Ridgecrest, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.