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M2.1 earthquake 28 km NE of California City, United States

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck 28 km NE of California City, United States at 17:51 local time (00:51 UTC) on 28 Sept 2026, at a depth of 7 km, according to USGS.

revised from M2.1

Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-29 01:11 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
2.1micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
revised from 2.1
Depth
6.7 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-09-29 00:51:15 UTC
Local: 28 Sept 2026, 17:51:15 (America/Los Angeles)
Epicentre
35.328° N, 117.803° 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. 13,27728 kmINot felt
RidgecrestCalifornia, United States · pop. 28,78035 kmINot felt
LancasterCalifornia, United States · pop. 161,10376 kmINot felt
Barstow HeightsCalifornia, United States · pop. 24,20285 kmINot felt
BarstowCalifornia, United States · pop. 23,69286 kmINot felt
BakersfieldCalifornia, United States · pop. 373,640110 kmINot felt
Los AngelesCalifornia, United States · pop. 3,820,914148 kmINot felt
RiversideCalifornia, United States · pop. 317,261158 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 Survey2.1 mlwas 1.96.7 km35.33° N, 117.80° W–Reviewed · 2 revisions

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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 22 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 7 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M2.1 releases about 33× the energy of M1.1, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 22 kg of TNT vs 674 g of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M1.1. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

No later earthquakes have been recorded within 30 km so far. 50 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Did you feel it?

Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.

How strong was the shaking where you were?

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Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

Event id ci41340415. First recorded here 29 Sept 2026, 00:54:21 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41340415). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M2.1 earthquake 28 km NE of California City, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41340415-m2-1-earthquake-28-km-ne-of-california-city-united-states, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41340415. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.