quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Mojave, CA
USGS: 6 km SSW of Mojave, California
34 km (21 mi) N of Lancaster, CA · 111 km (69 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 12:09 pm PDT on 17 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) SSW of Mojave, CA · earthquakes near Mojave
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 62 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Garlock 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 3424 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) SSW of Mojave, CA, at 12:09 pm PDT on 17 May 2017 (19:09 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rosamond, California City, Edwards Air Force Base, Tehachapi.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 27 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 42 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 39 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 16km NE of Lebec, CA · 50 km W 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 34.9982, -118.2012. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 62 km (38 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 89 km (56 mi) | S | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 5km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.9 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.8 11km SE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 6km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.5 5km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 12km WNW of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.6 13km W of Mojave, CA
- 1.6 6km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.5 13km SE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 6km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.8 5km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.5 6km SSW 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.