QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Pleito fault

38 kmlong (24 mi), as mapped
1–5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
70quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 1 to 5 mm a year — 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 inches) every century.

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.5 in 1952 (The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake) — about 5,600,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 2.7 megatons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 2 sections: Eastern Pleito section, Western Pleito section.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–0.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultGarlock faultSouthern Sierra Nevada faultSanta Ynez faultKern Canyon faultSan Gabriel faultSierra Madre faultPitas Point faultOak Ridge fault (offshore)Mission Ridge fault systemSan Juan faultOak Ridge faultSimi-Santa Rosa faultWhite Wolf faultSan Cayetano faultRed Mountain faultNorthridge blind thrustWheeler Ridge faultEdison faultBreckenridge faultIsla Vista faultKern Front faultNew Hope fault M 7.5 · 1952 · The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake
The Pleito fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 70 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake
    July 21, 1952 · epicentre on the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.7 20 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
    2026-05-22 · 4 km from the trace
  2. M 3.1 9 km WSW of Grapevine, CA
    2026-05-03 · 4 km from the trace
  3. M 3.0 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
    2026-04-23 · 8 km from the trace
  4. M 2.7 9 km WSW of Grapevine, CA
    2026-03-29 · 5 km from the trace
  5. M 3.0 14 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
    2026-01-12 · 7 km from the trace
  6. M 2.8 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
    2025-08-15 · 9 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.