Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5ml
Earthquake near Lost Hills, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lost Hills in the 24 hours to 1:57 pm PST (21:57 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 24 km (15 mi) NW, at 8:54 am PDT on 18 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lost Hills
This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) southwest of Lost Hills, CA, at 11:20 pm PST on 3 February 2016 (07:20 UTC), 8.2 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12km N of Simmler, CA
86 km (53 mi) W of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 11:20 pm PST on 3 February 2016 ()
- Where
- 31 km (19 mi) southwest of Lost Hills, CA · earthquakes near Lost Hills
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 44 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 3 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 1607 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lost Hills, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lost Hills, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 63 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Lost Hills, 31 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: Lost Hills 31 km, intensity II · Buttonwillow 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 61,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.8× more
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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 41 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 47 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 45 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 45 km NW 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 35.4607, -119.9757. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 70 km (43 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | S | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kern County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 137 km (85 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.9 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.8 Central California
- 1.9 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.8 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.8 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.8 12 km SSW of Kettleman City, California
- 3.5 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.8 14 km SSW of Kettleman City, California
- 2.0 14 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.5 14 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.5 14 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.7 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 2.8 15 km SSE of Avenal, California
- 1.9 15 km SSW of Kettleman City, California
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.