M2.9 earthquake 17km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 17km ESE of Ridgecrest, CA on Sat, Oct 2, 2021, 12:04 PM PDT (19:04 UTC), 7 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 15km ESE of Olancha, 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
2.93	ML, local (Richter)	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · ±0.17 · 131 stations
2.7	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.051 · 50 stations

2 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: 163 in the 60 days after this one and 79 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 163.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci40061528 (also filed as us6000fr53). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 6:47 AM UTC.