Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Kernville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kernville in the 24 hours to 8:51 pm PST (04:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 11 km (7 mi) NE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kernville
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 28 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Kernville, CA, at 10:01 pm PST on 16 January 2017 (06:01 UTC), 12 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 28km ESE of Kernville, CA
85 km (53 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 10:01 pm PST on 16 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 28 km (18 mi) east-southeast of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 60 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 15 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 3564 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kernville, CA
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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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Kernville, 28 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: Weldon, Wofford Heights, Lake Isabella.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 21 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 49 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 47 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 45 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 43 km SW 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 35.6233, -118.1550. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 60 km (38 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 8km ESE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.4 8km NNE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.2 8km NNE of Little Lake, CA
- 3.3 8km SE of Coso Junction, CA
- 3.0 8km NNE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.5 8km NNE of Little Lake, CA
- 3.0 8km NNE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.0 18km ESE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.5 3km NE of Kernville, CA
- 1.6 7km WNW of Johannesburg, CA
- 3.6 8km WNW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.6 3km NW of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.7 9 km SE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, 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.