QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Alpaugh, CA

USGS: 24km SW of Alpaugh, CA

72 km (44 mi) NW of Bakersfield, CA · 37 km (23 mi) W of Delano, CA

6:19 pm PST, Feb 12, 2016 · · 26 km deep · released about 1,400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Alpaugh Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kings County 40 kmSan Luis Obispo County 80 kmKern County 96 kmTulare County 98 kmFresno County 114 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
6:19 pm PST on 12 February 2016 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) SW of Alpaugh, CA · earthquakes near Alpaugh
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
26 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Kings County, 40 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3811 days ago

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) SW of Alpaugh, CA, at 6:19 pm PST on 12 February 2016 (02:19 UTC). 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lost Hills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× 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 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 35.7323, -119.6772. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kings County, CA 40 km (25 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 80 km (49 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Kern County, CA 96 km (60 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 98 km (61 mi) NE earthquakes near Tulare County
Fresno County, CA 114 km (71 mi) N earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 23 km SE of Kettleman City, California
  2. 1.8 22 km SSE of Kettleman City, California
  3. 1.8 22 km SSE of Kettleman City, California
  4. 1.6 11km ESE of Simmler, CA
  5. 1.5 5km SW of Wasco, CA
  6. 1.8 6 km WSW of Kettleman City, California
  7. 1.9 6km SSW of Wasco, CA
  8. 1.6 11 km S of Kettleman City, California
  9. 1.6 10 km SW of Kettleman City, California
  10. 2.2 18 km E of Kettleman City, California
  11. 2.7 9 km WNW of Tipton, California
  12. 2.8 11 km E of Kettleman City, California
  13. 2.4 20km WSW of Alpaugh, CA
  14. 2.4 6km SSW of Wasco, CA
  15. 2.6 19 km W of Alpaugh, 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

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