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M1.5 earthquake 26 km NE of California City, United States

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 26 km NE of California City, United States at 11:57 local time (18:57 UTC) on 21 Sept 2026, at a depth of 9 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-21 20:40 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
1.5micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
Depth
9.5 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-21 18:57:48 UTC
Local: 21 Sept 2026, 11:57:48 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
35.312° N, 117.816° W

Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. shaking
California CityCalifornia, United States · pop. 13,27726 kmINot felt
RidgecrestCalifornia, United States · pop. 28,78037 kmINot felt
LancasterCalifornia, United States · pop. 161,10374 kmINot felt
Barstow HeightsCalifornia, United States · pop. 24,20284 kmINot felt
BarstowCalifornia, United States · pop. 23,69286 kmINot felt
BakersfieldCalifornia, United States · pop. 373,640109 kmINot felt
Los AngelesCalifornia, United States · pop. 3,820,914146 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,261156 kmINot felt

Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.

Every agency's solution

Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · CI, which has been reviewed by an analyst.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
USGS · CIheadlineSouthern California Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey1.5 ml9.5 km35.31° N, 117.82° W–Reviewed

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How big was it?

Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.

It released roughly the energy of 3 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 9 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M1.5 releases about 5.8× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 3.2× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 3 kg of TNT vs 477 g of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M1.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

50 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M3.2 5 days ago. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M1.5

50 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
14.671.18
22.770.73
22.820.85
26.911.07
26.920.67
27.050.72
27.451.07
28.891.46
32.721.77
32.801.67
33.042.57
35.651.48
38.010.96
38.501.76
40.792.26
40.911.36
41.681.67
41.971.17
42.911.16
44.073.27
45.850.96
48.041.76
48.101.37
48.380.86
48.901.06
49.032.56
49.450.96
49.591.17
49.783.07
50.901.17
51.281.07
52.370.87
55.251.37
56.180.96
56.232.67
60.081.67
62.220.96
62.541.37
64.401.36
64.401.36
64.611.17
69.530.94
109.951.57
124.921.46
127.151.16
131.920.96
132.091.47
133.771.27
159.751.87
166.320.87
  1. 3.226 km NE of California City, United States09-23 15:01
  2. 3.026 km NE of California City, United States09-23 20:44
  3. 2.626 km NE of California City, United States09-24 03:11
  4. 2.526 km NE of California City, United States09-23 03:59
  5. 2.526 km NE of California City, United States09-23 19:59
  6. 2.226 km NE of California City, United States09-23 11:45
  7. 1.828 km NE of California City, United States09-28 10:42
  8. 1.726 km NE of California City, United States09-23 09:27
  9. 1.726 km NE of California City, United States09-23 19:00
  10. 1.726 km NE of California City, United States09-23 03:41
  11. 1.626 km NE of California City, United States09-23 03:45
  12. 1.626 km NE of California City, United States09-23 12:38
  13. 1.627 km NE of California City, United States09-24 07:02
  14. 1.525 km NE of California City, United States09-26 08:54
  15. 1.427 km NE of California City, United States09-23 06:37
  16. 1.426 km NE of California City, United States09-22 23:51
  17. 1.427 km NE of California City, United States09-27 07:03
  18. 1.426 km NE of California City, United States09-26 23:52
  19. 1.327 km NE of California City, United States09-24 09:30
  20. 1.326 km NE of California City, United States09-23 11:52
  21. 1.326 km NE of California City, United States09-24 02:12
  22. 1.326 km NE of California City, United States09-23 19:03
  23. 1.327 km NE of California City, United States09-24 11:22
  24. 1.327 km NE of California City, United States09-24 11:21
  25. 1.227 km NE of California City, United States09-27 08:44

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

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Event id ci41336247. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:12 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41336247). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.5 earthquake 26 km NE of California City, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41336247-m1-5-earthquake-26-km-ne-of-california-city-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41336247. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.