Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Mojave, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mojave in the 24 hours to 9:08 am PST (17:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 44 km (27 mi) NE, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mojave
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) north of Mojave, CA, at 9:02 pm PST on 30 January 2017 (05:02 UTC), 7.5 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8km N of Mojave, CA
48 km (30 mi) N of Lancaster, CA · 124 km (77 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 9:02 pm PST on 30 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) north of Mojave, CA · earthquakes near Mojave
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 55 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Garlock fault, 13 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 Mojave, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mojave, 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Mojave, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Mojave 8 km, intensity III · California City 19 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 15 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 31 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 34 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.4 25km SSW of Bodfish, CA · 44 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 35.1230, -118.1895. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | S | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.6 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.8 27km NE of Arvin, CA
- 2.0 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.9 16km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.9 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 3.0 18km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 4km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.5 4km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 6km S of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
- 1.9 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 6km NNW of Boron, 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.