Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Tehachapi, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tehachapi in the 24 hours to 4:43 am PST (12:43 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 61 km (38 mi) ENE, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tehachapi
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) west of Tehachapi, CA, at 7:37 pm PDT on 20 September 2018 (02:37 UTC), 2.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km W of Tehachapi, CA
51 km (32 mi) ESE of Bakersfield, CA · 124 km (77 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 7:37 pm PDT on 20 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) west of Tehachapi, CA · earthquakes near Tehachapi
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 29 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Garlock fault, 16 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tehachapi, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tehachapi, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Tehachapi, 9 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.
Likely felt in: Tehachapi 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 30 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 40 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
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 35.1270, -118.5495. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kings County, CA | 155 km (97 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.4 19km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.1 22km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.3 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 26km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 9km WSW of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Mojave, CA
- 2.1 20km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.5 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 23km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.8 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 6km NNE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 20km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.8 16km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Mojave, CA
- 1.6 7km SSW of Mojave, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.