Max Est. MMI
Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence
Shaking Animations
Simulated bowling pin shaking at each city’s intensity level. Videos appear as they finish rendering. The ground motion behind each video is under Ground Motion Records.
| Location | Type | Intensity at site | Animation | Ground motion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decay: Los Angeles direction | Decay · Tabletop Simulated | Severe(VIII) USGS ShakeMap, 5 km site | Download Produced 2026-08-04T18:19:19.956044Z | |
| Lakeland Street, Ridgecrest CA | Station · Tabletop Observed | Very Strong(VII) station record | Download Produced 2026-10-03T23:33:27.159204Z |
Data files
|
| Searles Valley | City · Tabletop Simulated | Very Strong(VII) USGS ShakeMap | Download Produced 2026-08-04T19:51:02.246932Z |
Ground Motion Records
The shaking each animation was drawn from: acceleration, velocity and displacement in three directions. The shaded band marks the part the animation shows.
Station · Observed — CI.Q0072 (Lakeland Street, Ridgecrest Ca)
Used by the Tabletop videoRecorded by a seismic station during this earthquake, with the instrument response removed.
| Site | PGA (g) | PGV (cm/s) | PGD (cm) | Data files |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CI.Q0072 (Lakeland Street, Ridgecrest Ca) | 0.2313 | 33.25 | 13.68 | Acceleration · Velocity · Displacement |
Peak values are horizontal (the larger of north–south and east–west) over the whole record. Time zero: earthquake origin time.
About these files
Each file is plain text in the SCEC Broadband Platform layout. Lines starting with # are a header describing the earthquake, the site, where the motion came from, how it was processed, its peak values, and which part the animation shows. Then come four columns: time (s), north–south, east–west, and up–down. North–south comes before east–west.
Units: acceleration in cm/s², velocity in cm/s, displacement in cm. The zip also contains the plots and a README.
To read a file in Python: t, ns, ew, ud = numpy.loadtxt("file.acc.bbp", comments="#", unpack=True). A spreadsheet can open it as whitespace-delimited text.
These records explain what the animations show. A single simulation, one station’s record, or a synthetic scaled to one value is not an engineering estimate of ground motion at a site.
Engineering Ground Motion Parameters
GMPE predictions provide an independent check on the ShakeMap interpolated intensities above.
ShakeMap relies on seismic station recordings; in areas with sparse station coverage — or
for large teleseismic events and earthquakes outside dense West Coast networks — ShakeMap
MMI can be inaccurate. A significant difference between ShakeMap and GMPE estimates is a signal
that the ShakeMap result should be treated as preliminary.
Also includes site Vs30 values and raw ground motion parameters (PGA/PGV).
Show ▼
Engineering Ground Motion Parameters
GMPE predictions provide an independent check on the ShakeMap interpolated intensities above. ShakeMap relies on seismic station recordings; in areas with sparse station coverage — or for large teleseismic events and earthquakes outside dense West Coast networks — ShakeMap MMI can be inaccurate. A significant difference between ShakeMap and GMPE estimates is a signal that the ShakeMap result should be treated as preliminary. Also includes site Vs30 values and raw ground motion parameters (PGA/PGV).
Est. Vs30 Values
Estimated shear-wave velocity in the upper 30 m used in GMPE calculations. Ref. column shows the 760 m/s rock-site reference for comparison.
| Location | Ref. (760 m/s) | Est. Vs30 (m/s) |
|---|---|---|
|
Searles Valley
CA |
760 | 352 |
|
Ridgecrest
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
China Lake Acres
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Inyokern
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Weldon
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Lucerne Valley
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Silver Lakes
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Lake Isabella
CA |
760 | 357 |
|
Spring Valley Lake
CA |
760 | 346 |
|
Lenwood
CA |
760 | 363 |
|
Death Valley
CA |
760 | 228 |
|
Fort Irwin
CA |
760 | 352 |
|
Sun Village
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Apple Valley
CA |
760 | 228 |
|
Barstow
CA |
760 | 352 |
|
Barstow Heights
CA |
760 | 352 |
|
Lancaster
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Piñon Hills
CA |
760 | 352 |
|
California City
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Mojave
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Victorville
CA |
760 | 482 |
|
Adelanto
CA |
760 | 294 |
|
Bodfish
CA |
760 | 710 |
|
Littlerock
CA |
760 | 379 |
|
Desert View Highlands
CA |
760 | 365 |
|
Palmdale
CA |
760 | 358 |
|
Kernville
CA |
760 | 352 |
|
Golden Hills
CA |
760 | 392 |
|
Lamont
CA |
760 | 228 |
|
East Porterville
CA |
760 | 343 |
|
Lone Pine
CA |
760 | 294 |
MMI vs Distance — Default Vs30 (760 m/s)
All methods using the 760 m/s rock-site reference. ShakeMap values are independent of Vs30.
MMI vs Distance — Est. Vs30
GMPEs use the Est. Vs30 values shown in the table above. ShakeMap values are independent of Vs30.
GMPE Residual — Observed − Predicted MMI
Signed residual at each seismic station. Positive values mean the GMPE underestimated shaking; negative values mean it overestimated. The dashed line at zero indicates perfect agreement.
GMPE Predicted vs. Observed MMI at Seismic Stations
Each point is one seismic station. Points on the dashed 1:1 line indicate perfect agreement; above the line = GMPE underestimated shaking; below = overestimated.
GMPE Performance — Station Observations
Statistics computed by comparing each GMPE's predicted MMI against ShakeMap observed MMI at seismic stations. Bias = mean(observed − predicted). Lower RMSE indicates better overall agreement with instrumental measurements.
| GMPE | Bias | Sigma | RMSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASK14 | +1.75 | 0.78 | 1.92 |
| BSSA14 | +1.73 | 0.78 | 1.90 |
| CY14 | +1.70 | 0.73 | 1.85 |
| CB14 | +1.83 | 0.79 | 2.00 |
Peak Ground Motion — Seismic Station Observations
Recorded PGA and PGV at seismic stations, sorted by highest PGA. Top 25 stations shown. MMI (PGA) and MMI (PGV) are independent conversions via Worden et al. (2012) GMICE.
| Station | PGA (g) | MMI (PGA) | PGV (cm/s) | MMI (PGV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas Canyon China Lake (CI.CCC) | 0.3817 | Strong(VI) | 26.583 | Severe(VIII) |
| Lakeland Street, Ridgecrest Ca (CI.Q0072) | 0.2112 | Moderate(V) | 31.192 | Violent(IX) |
| Laurel Mtn (CI.LRL) | 0.1971 | Moderate(V) | 14.036 | Severe(VIII) |
| Tower 2 (CI.TOW2) | 0.1786 | Moderate(V) | 15.626 | Severe(VIII) |
| Snort (CI.SRT) | 0.1577 | Moderate(V) | 17.745 | Severe(VIII) |
| Volcano Peak 2 (CI.WVP2) | 0.0983 | Moderate(V) | 4.742 | Strong(VI) |
| Nine Mile Canyon (CI.WNM) | 0.0931 | Moderate(V) | 2.214 | Moderate(V) |
| Bird Springs (CI.WBS) | 0.0912 | Moderate(V) | 3.986 | Strong(VI) |
| Lake Isabella - Kern River Valley (CE.34349) | 0.0646 | Light(IV) | 4.189 | Strong(VI) |
| Death Valley - Shoshone (CE.32076) | 0.0641 | Light(IV) | 4.599 | Strong(VI) |
| Lancaster - 15th & W Avenue J (CE.24661) | 0.0596 | Light(IV) | 5.849 | Strong(VI) |
| Onyx Ranch (CI.WOR) | 0.0563 | Light(IV) | 1.659 | Moderate(V) |
| Lucerne Valley 2 (CI.LUC2) | 0.0550 | Light(IV) | 5.471 | Strong(VI) |
| Hanning Flat (CI.WHF) | 0.0548 | Light(IV) | 2.726 | Moderate(V) |
| Palmdale - 30th St West & Ave P (CE.24967) | 0.0504 | Light(IV) | 3.884 | Strong(VI) |
| CA:Palmdale;FS 37 (NP.262) | 0.0495 | Light(IV) | 3.981 | Strong(VI) |
| Shuttle (CI.SHU) | 0.0494 | Light(IV) | 4.643 | Strong(VI) |
| Rose Valley 2 (CI.WRV2) | 0.0485 | Light(IV) | 3.934 | Strong(VI) |
| Pacoima (CE.24088) | 0.0456 | Light(IV) | 3.826 | Strong(VI) |
| Apple Valley - Hwy 18 & Standing Rock Av (CE.23119) | 0.0438 | Light(IV) | 1.755 | Moderate(V) |
| Yermo - Fire Station (CE.22074) | 0.0425 | Light(IV) | 4.632 | Strong(VI) |
| Neenach (CI.NEN) | 0.0423 | Light(IV) | 6.072 | Strong(VI) |
| Shoshone (CI.SHO) | 0.0416 | Light(IV) | 3.639 | Strong(VI) |
| Barstow Service Center (CI.RRX) | 0.0413 | Light(IV) | 5.707 | Strong(VI) |
| Palmdale - 55th St East & Ave R (CE.24965) | 0.0405 | Light(IV) | 2.512 | Moderate(V) |
Ground Shaking Intensities — Interpolated ShakeMap MMI
31 sites| Location | MMI Description |
|---|---|
|
Searles Valley
CA |
Very Strong(VII) |
|
Ridgecrest
CA |
Strong(VI) |
|
China Lake Acres
CA |
Strong(VI) |
|
Inyokern
CA |
Strong(VI) |
|
Weldon
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Lucerne Valley
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Silver Lakes
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Lake Isabella
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Spring Valley Lake
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Lenwood
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Death Valley
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Fort Irwin
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Sun Village
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Apple Valley
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Barstow
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Barstow Heights
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Lancaster
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Piñon Hills
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
California City
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Mojave
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Victorville
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Adelanto
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Bodfish
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Littlerock
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Desert View Highlands
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Palmdale
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Kernville
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Golden Hills
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Lamont
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
East Porterville
CA |
Light(IV) |
|
Lone Pine
CA |
Light(IV) |
Seismic Station Observed MMI
MMI values are derived directly from observed ground motion measurements at seismic stations and are not spatially interpolated.