QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Kernville, CA

USGS: 19km ESE of Kernville, CA

80 km (50 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

3:47 am PDT, Oct 5, 2016 · · 9.7 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Kernville Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 57 kmTulare County 79 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
3:47 am PDT on 5 October 2016 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) ESE of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
9.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 57 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Kern Canyon fault, 18 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 3650 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) ESE of Kernville, CA, at 3:47 am PDT on 5 October 2016 (10:47 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Weldon, Wofford Heights, Lake Isabella, Bodfish, Alta Sierra.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 27 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 46 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 38 km E 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 35.6723, -118.2415. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 57 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 124 km (77 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

25 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 7km NNE of Little Lake, CA
  2. 1.6 32km SE of Bodfish, CA
  3. 2.6 32km SE of Bodfish, CA
  4. 2.5 32km SE of Bodfish, CA
  5. 1.6 16km S of Bodfish, CA
  6. 1.6 5km N of Little Lake, CA
  7. 1.6 33km SE of Bodfish, CA
  8. 1.8 32km SE of Bodfish, CA
  9. 1.7 4km WSW of Little Lake, CA
  10. 1.5 24km NE of Arvin, CA
  11. 2.4 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  12. 1.6 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  13. 1.6 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  14. 1.8 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  15. 2.5 25km NNW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.