Remembering Ridgecrest
Remembering Ridgecrest
Stories from the July 4, 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake
Earthquakes can be unsettling.
Feeling the ground beneath you shake and seeing the environment around you roll and rock can leave one feeling wary of what is to come next. This was certainly the case for the community of Ridgecrest, California, on July 4th, 2019, as they experienced a magnitude 6.4 earthquake. As scientists and responders from different agencies and organizations focused their energy on emergency response, another stronger earthquake shook the area about 33 hours later.
In the video, “Remembering Ridgecrest,” USGS scientists recollect how they responded on July 4, 2019, and their most memorable moments during the immediate and subsequent response. This video is only a small snapshot of the many USGS employees who responded, and only begins to allude to the myriad of partner agencies and institutions who were involved. This kind of research and partnership ultimately can help save lives and property.
Video Transcript
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Image of the Week - A Tear in the Mojave
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Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019
USGS Pasadena Earthquake Response Coordinator surveys displaced rocks near the southern end of the surface rupture of the 5 July 2019 M7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake. USGS photograph. Photo credit: Sue Hough, USGS
Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019
Kate Scharer examining striations along fault scarp while completing GPS survey of fault rupture. Here the fault has about 2.6 m of horizontal displacement and 0.5 m of vertical. The rake of the striations is 47 degrees. Photo credit: Jamie Delano, USGS
Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019
USGS scientist Jaime Delano, observes a sand blow caused by liquefaction during the M7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake. Photo credit: Chris DuRoss
Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019
USGS scientist Jessie Thompson Jobe measures fault offset at the site of the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence rupture. Photo credit: Chris DuRoss, USGS
Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019
USGS Geophysicists Elizabeth Cochran and Nick VanDerElst install a seismometer on the base Photo credit: Ben Brooks, USGS
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USGS scientist Jessie Thompson Jobe collects and records information on earthquake surface ruptures observed along a roadway following the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. Photo credit: Ryan Gold (USGS)
Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019
USGS scientist Kate Scharer provides Commanding Officer CAPT Paul Dale (Navy) with the field team’s initial mapping product, showing the surface fault rupture at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWSCL) as well as the temporarily deployed seismic and GPS sensors that were rapidly deployed. Field data were provided by California Geological Survey (CGS) and USGS (from
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...2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence: July 4, 2019–July 16, 2019
3,557 earthquakes recorded since July 4, 2019 above Magnitude 2
M6.4 12km W of Searles Valley, CA
2019-07-04 17:33:49 (UTC)
51,000+ responses via Did You Feel It?
M7.1 18km W of Searles Valley, CA
2019-07-06 03:19:53 (UTC)
42,000+ responses via Did You Feel It?
631 M3+
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USGS Geologists Beth Haddon and Josie Nevitt measure fault displacement along the principal rupture in the Southern California desert near Ridgecrest. Photo credit: Ben Brooks, USGS
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