Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Bakersfield, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bakersfield in the 24 hours to 3:38 pm PST (23:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 21 km (13 mi) S, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Bakersfield
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) east of Bakersfield, CA, at 1:31 am PDT on 16 May 2017 (08:31 UTC), 6.2 km deep.
USGS: 9 km N of Keene, California
45 km (28 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA · 144 km (90 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 1:31 am PDT on 16 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) east of Bakersfield, CA · earthquakes near Bakersfield
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 17 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Breckenridge fault, 7 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 3467 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bakersfield, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Bakersfield, 43 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Bear Valley Springs, Golden Hills, Tehachapi, Stallion Springs, Arvin.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 23 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 32 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 7 km E of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 8 km SE 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 35.3098, -118.5490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 17 km (10 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 118 km (74 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kings County, CA | 142 km (88 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings 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.
- 2.0 20km S of Bodfish, CA
- 2.5 20km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 16km WNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 14km SW of Arvin, CA
- 1.8 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 5km NW of Lamont, CA
- 1.8 26km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 11km SE of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.3 7km E of Oildale, CA
- 1.7 12km WNW of Mojave, CA
- 1.6 13km W of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 13km SE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 6km SSW of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.7 12km WNW of Mojave, 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.