California earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 13km NW of Ludlow, CA

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 13km NW of Ludlow, CA on Tue, Oct 29, 2002, 6:16 AM PST (14:16 UTC), 4 km (2 mi) below the surface.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.8 (ML, local (Richter)), light
Magnitude from: Southern California Seismic Network
Local time: Tue, Oct 29, 2002, 6:16 AM PST
UTC: 2002-10-29 14:16:54 UTC
Depth: 3.7 km (2.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 34.803° N, 116.267° W
Region: California
Felt reports: 104
Strongest shaking: VI, strong shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
4.77	ML, local (Richter)	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · ±0.543 · 130 stations
4.6	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (IV) at Barstow and Newberry Springs; (III) at Apple Valley and Fort Irwin; (II) at Twentynine Palms and Victorville.

From the USGS event page for ci9854597. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: VI, strong shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

104 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was VI, strong shaking.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Strike-slip
Nodal plane 1: Strike 356°, dip 79°, rake 167°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 89°, dip 77°, rake 11°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 0.3 km horizontally, 0.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.54
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 51°
Stations used: 31

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 94 in the 60 days after this one and 43 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 94.

Before

Earthquakes today California earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci9854597 (also filed as ci09854597, usp000bfkw). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:22 PM UTC.