Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Lake Isabella, CA
USGS: 3km ENE of Lake Isabella, CA
62 km (38 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 1:36 pm PDT on 29 September 2016 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) ENE of Lake Isabella, CA · earthquakes near Lake Isabella
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 40 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 3 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 3655 days ago
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) ENE of Lake Isabella, CA, at 1:36 pm PDT on 29 September 2016 (20:36 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Weldon, Kernville, Alta Sierra.
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 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 46 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 48 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 36 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 42 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 32 km S 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 35.6232, -118.4442. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo 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.
- 2.1 24km NE of Lamont, CA
- 2.2 17km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.6 27km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 10km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 10km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 21km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.4 21km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 1.6 21km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.2 21km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.2 21km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.0 17km NW of Inyokern, CA
- 1.7 17km NW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.2 8km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 28km N of Kernville, CA
- 1.7 17km NW of Tehachapi, 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.