M2.5 earthquake 9km E of Ridgecrest, CA

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 9km E of Ridgecrest, CA on Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 9:55 PM PDT (04:55 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.6 17km S of Trona, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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
2.46	ML, local (Richter)	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · ±0.164 · 77 stations
2.1	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.06 · 37 stations

11 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 185 in the 60 days after this one and 125 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 185.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci39583151 (also filed as us7000dkgk). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:17 PM UTC.