The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 14 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Death Valley, the biggest of them M2.7. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Death Valley came at 0.1× the usual pace — quieter than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Death Valley — records go back to 1980 — was the M7.1 of Jul 06, 2019, 03:19 UTC: Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence.
How we figure this: 18 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 128.2 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Latest earthquakes near Death Valley
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.4 | 22 km WNW of Searles Valley, CA | Nov 03, 2026, 05:47 AM | 3 km | 88 km WSW |
| M1.6 | 7 km E of Ridgecrest, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 11:44 PM | 7 km | 99 km SW |
| M0.9 | 11 km ENE of Coso Junction, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 02:24 PM | 4 km | 94 km W |
| M1.1 | 12 km E of Coso Junction, CA | Nov 01, 2026, 03:11 AM | 1 km | 93 km WSW |
| M0.8 | 21 km N of Ridgecrest, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 07:02 PM | 9 km | 88 km WSW |
| M0.9 | 12 km SW of Searles Valley, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 05:22 PM | 6 km | 86 km SW |
| M0.6 | 17 km SSW of Searles Valley, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 03:34 PM | 6 km | 90 km SW |
| M1.0 | 17 km NNE of Ridgecrest, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 07:03 AM | 10 km | 90 km SW |
| M0.9 | 17 km NNE of Ridgecrest, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 06:59 AM | 10 km | 90 km SW |
| M0.6 | 14 km SW of Searles Valley, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 06:25 AM | 8 km | 89 km SW |
Earthquakes per year near Death Valley (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Death Valley
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 326 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Death Valley (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M7.1 | Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence | Jul 06, 2019, 03:19 UTC | 88 km |
| M6.4 | Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence | Jul 04, 2019, 17:33 UTC | 86 km |
| M5.8 | 47 km ESE of Beatty, Nevada | Jun 29, 1992, 10:14 UTC | 69 km |
| M5.8 | 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California | Sep 20, 1995, 23:27 UTC | 91 km |
| M5.5 | 17km S of Searles Valley, CA | Jun 04, 2020, 01:32 UTC | 89 km |
| M5.5 | 15km ESE of Little Lake, CA | Jul 06, 2019, 03:47 UTC | 92 km |
| M5.4 | 20km E of Little Lake, CA | Jul 06, 2019, 04:18 UTC | 87 km |
| M5.4 | 16km W of Searles Valley, CA | Jul 05, 2019, 11:07 UTC | 87 km |
Nearby places
Pahrump, NV (74 km) · Beatty, NV (75 km) · Searles Valley, CA (75 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 21:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 21:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.