QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Alpaugh, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Alpaugh in the 24 hours to 3:51 am PST (11:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 46 km (29 mi) WNW, at 6:21 am PDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Alpaugh

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) southeast of Alpaugh, CA, at 8:06 am PDT on 11 October 2019 (15:06 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: 12km SE of Alpaugh, CA

13 km (8 mi) WNW of Delano, CA · 60 km (37 mi) NNW of Bakersfield, CA

8:06 am PDT, Oct 11, 2019 · · 22 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 48 kmTulare County 72 kmKern County 79 kmSan Luis Obispo County 106 kmFresno County 109 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
8:06 am PDT on 11 October 2019 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) southeast of Alpaugh, CA · earthquakes near Alpaugh
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kings County, 48 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 757 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Alpaugh, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Earlimart, Delano, Teviston, Pixley, McFarland, Wasco.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 6,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 35.8077, -119.3940. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Kings County
Tulare County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NE earthquakes near Tulare County
Kern County, CA 79 km (49 mi) SE earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 106 km (66 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 109 km (67 mi) NNW earthquakes near Fresno County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.6 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  2. 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  3. 1.8 25km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  4. 1.8 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  5. 1.9 27km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  6. 2.3 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  7. 2.1 27km NE of Simmler, CA
  8. 1.7 27km NE of Simmler, CA
  9. 2.6 27km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  10. 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  11. 2.6 28km NE of Simmler, CA
  12. 2.1 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  13. 2.1 27km NE of Simmler, CA
  14. 2.4 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
  15. 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.