M 3.6 Earthquake Strikes 1 km NE of Ridgemark, CA
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake occurred 1 km northeast of Ridgemark, California, on May 16, 2026, at 12:28 UTC.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on May 17, 2026 and geographically references Central California. Its severity classification of "low" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, California.
What Happened
A M 3.6 mw earthquake struck 1 km NE of Ridgemark, CA, at a depth of 6.91 km on May 16, 2026, at 12:28:15 UTC (Unix time 1778999295290). The event was reviewed by the USGS and assigned a significance value of 217.
Location Details
The earthquake was located at coordinates 36.8215°N, 121.3533°W. The shallow depth of 6.91 km (less than 20 km) places it in the upper crust, where seismic waves are more likely to be felt at the surface.
Impact Assessment
The earthquake was felt by 58 people, with a maximum reported intensity of 3.8 on the Community Decimal Intensity scale and a peak shaking intensity of 3.88 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. No tsunami was generated (tsunami flag: 0) and no alert level was issued.
What You Should Know
Earthquakes of this magnitude are classified as minor and are often felt but rarely cause damage. Residents should be prepared for possible aftershocks and follow standard earthquake safety practices such as "drop, cover, and hold on."
Source
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,103 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to May 17, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.