Light mag. 3.5 earthquake - Inyo County, 27 mi northwest of Ridgecrest, Kern County, California, USA, on Wednesday, 20 Jan 2021 5:22 pm (GMT -8) -
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Light magnitude 3.5 earthquake at 3 km depth
21 Jan 01:25 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 3 minutes.
21 Jan 01:25: Now using data updates from USGS
21 Jan 02:38: Magnitude recalculated from 3.6 to 3.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 2.7 to 3.0 km (from 1.7 to 1.9 mi).
21 Jan 01:25: Now using data updates from USGS
21 Jan 02:38: Magnitude recalculated from 3.6 to 3.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 2.7 to 3.0 km (from 1.7 to 1.9 mi).
Update Thu, 21 Jan 2021, 01:30
Small 3.6 quake hits near Ridgecrest, Kern County, California, United States3.6 quake 20 Jan 5:22 pm (GMT -8)
A very shallow magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near Ridgecrest, Kern County, California, USA.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake hit on Wednesday 20 January 2021 at 5:22 pm local time at a very shallow depth of 1.7 miles. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 3.2.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Pearsonville (pop. 17) located 11 miles from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Inyokern (pop. 1,100) located 23 miles from the epicenter, China Lake Acres (pop. 1,900) 24 miles away, Ridgecrest (pop. 28,800) 27 miles away, Weldon (pop. 2,600) 30 miles away, Weldon (pop. 2,600) 30 miles away, and Weldon (pop. 2,600) 30 miles away.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake hit on Wednesday 20 January 2021 at 5:22 pm local time at a very shallow depth of 1.7 miles. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 3.2.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Pearsonville (pop. 17) located 11 miles from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Inyokern (pop. 1,100) located 23 miles from the epicenter, China Lake Acres (pop. 1,900) 24 miles away, Ridgecrest (pop. 28,800) 27 miles away, Weldon (pop. 2,600) 30 miles away, Weldon (pop. 2,600) 30 miles away, and Weldon (pop. 2,600) 30 miles away.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 21 Jan 2021 01:22:24 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Wednesday, 20 Jan 2021 5:22 pm (GMT -8)
Magnitude: 3.5
Depth: 3.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 35.96583°N / 117.91233°W
(Inyo County, California, United States)Nearest volcano: Coso (11 km / 7 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
18 km (11 mi) NNW of Pearsonville (pop: 17) --> See nearby quakes!
37 km (23 mi) NNW of Inyokern (pop: 1,100) --> See nearby quakes!
44 km (27 mi) NNW of Ridgecrest (pop: 28,800) --> See nearby quakes!
48 km (30 mi) NE of Weldon (pop: 2,640) --> See nearby quakes!
100 km (62 mi) E of Porterville (pop: 56,100) --> See nearby quakes!
120 km (74 mi) NE of Bakersfield (pop: 373,600) --> See nearby quakes!
122 km (76 mi) E of Delano (pop: 52,700) --> See nearby quakes!
130 km (81 mi) ESE of Visalia (pop: 130,100) --> See nearby quakes!
142 km (89 mi) N of Lancaster (pop: 161,100) --> See nearby quakes!
430 km (267 mi) SE of Sacramento (pop: 490,700) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Scattered Clouds
13.5°C (56 F), humidity: 29%, wind: 4 m/s (8 kts) from ESE
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)Scattered Clouds
13.5°C (56 F), humidity: 29%, wind: 4 m/s (8 kts) from ESEEstimated released energy: 1.1 x 1010 joules (3.12 megawatt hours, equivalent to 2.68 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 3.5 | 3 km | 3km N of Little Lake, CA, USA | USGS |
| M 3.2 | 8 km | CENTRAL CALIFORNIA, USA | EMSC |
User reports for this quake (1)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
