QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Edwards Air Force Base, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Edwards Air Force Base in the 24 hours to 9:01 am PST (17:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 45 km (28 mi) NNE, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Edwards Air Force Base

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west of Edwards Air Force Base, CA, at 3:19 am PDT on 11 September 2026 (10:19 UTC), 8.3 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km W of Edwards Air Force Base, CA

29 km (18 mi) NE of Lancaster, CA · 106 km (66 mi) NNE of Los Angeles, CA

3:19 am PDT, Sep 11, 2026 · · 8.3 km deep · released about 260 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Edwards Air Force Base Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 83 kmLos Angeles County 83 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
3:19 am PDT on 11 September 2026 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) west of Edwards Air Force Base, CA · earthquakes near Edwards Air Force Base
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kern County, 83 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 62 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Edwards Air Force Base, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rosamond, North Edwards, Mojave, California City, Lancaster.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 4.3 on 2026-07-13 — about 350 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 5km SW of Tehachapi, CA · 49 km WNW 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 34.9093, -117.9922. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 83 km (51 mi) NW earthquakes near Kern County
Los Angeles County, CA 83 km (52 mi) SSW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 121 km (75 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 5 km NW of Boron, CA
  2. 1.2 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  3. 0.9 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  4. 1.1 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  5. 1.3 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  6. 1.5 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  7. 1.1 14 km W of Mojave, CA
  8. 1.1 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  9. 1.3 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  10. 1.3 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  11. 1.3 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  12. 0.9 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  13. 1.6 16 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  14. 2.6 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  15. 0.9 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

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