Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Oildale, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oildale in the 24 hours to 5:40 am PST (13:40 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 110 km (68 mi) E, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oildale
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) north of Oildale, CA, at 10:19 pm PDT on 23 July 2017 (05:19 UTC), 16 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km N of Oildale, CA
16 km (10 mi) N of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 10:19 pm PDT on 23 July 2017 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) north of Oildale, CA · earthquakes near Oildale
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 31 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Front fault, under 1 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 3304 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oildale, CA
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Oildale, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Oildale 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 54 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 280,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 54 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 29 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 19 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 42 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 17 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 25km SSW of Bodfish, CA · 43 km ESE 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 35.4968, -119.0170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kings County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 142 km (88 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 12km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.8 7km S of Lamont, CA
- 1.8 20km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 19km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 22km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 19km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 26km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 27km NE of Arvin, CA
- 1.7 20km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.0 11km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 12km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.6 11km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.0 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 7km SW of Shafter, 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.