Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.9mw
Earthquake near Wasco, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Wasco in the 24 hours to 7:38 am PST (15:38 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 95 km (59 mi) SSE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wasco
This page: a magnitude 4.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Wasco, CA, at 4:02 pm PST on 23 February 2016 (00:02 UTC), 22 km deep. 2,367 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km SSW of Wasco, CA
37 km (23 mi) NW of Bakersfield, CA · 27 km (17 mi) SSW of Delano, CA
- When
- 4:02 pm PST on 23 February 2016 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Wasco, CA · earthquakes near Wasco
- Magnitude
- M 4.9 (mw)
- Depth
- 22 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2,367 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity VII (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Kern County, 62 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1661 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wasco, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Wasco, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 177 km (110 mi) from the epicentre. In Wasco, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Wasco 6 km, intensity IV · Shafter 10 km, intensity IV · Buttonwillow 18 km, intensity IV · Rosedale 27 km, intensity IV · Lost Hills 30 km, intensity IV · Oildale 35 km, intensity III · Bakersfield 37 km, intensity III · Taft 45 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 300 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 560× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 25× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.9 about 300 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 640× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 43 km ESE 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 35.5423, -119.3728. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Kings County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Tulare County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 5km ENE of Shafter, CA
- 1.8 10km SW of Pixley, CA
- 1.8 12km W of Rosedale, CA
- 2.0 8km E of Wasco, CA
- 1.9 4km ESE of Delano, CA
- 2.3 7km NNW of Delano, CA
- 1.8 25km E of McFarland, CA
- 1.9 9km W of Pixley, CA
- 2.0 22 km NNW of Lost Hills, California
- 2.0 4km NNW of Delano, CA
- 2.1 7km SSW of Shafter, CA
- 1.8 6km WSW of Bakersfield, CA
- 1.6 18km NE of Oildale, CA
- 1.5 5km SW of Wasco, CA
- 1.7 19km ENE of Maricopa, 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.