QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Inyokern, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Inyokern in the 24 hours to 1:01 pm PST (21:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 38 km (23 mi) S, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Inyokern

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) west of Inyokern, CA, at 3:48 am PDT on 24 July 2017 (10:48 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: 24km W of Inyokern, CA

94 km (58 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

3:48 am PDT, Jul 24, 2017 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 69 kmTulare County 88 kmInyo County 116 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
3:48 am PDT on 24 July 2017 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) west of Inyokern, CA · earthquakes near Inyokern
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 69 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 14 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

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Inyokern, 24 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Weldon, China Lake Acres.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 13 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 16km NNE of Ridgecrest, California · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 14 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 23 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 17km N of Ridgecrest, California · 39 km ENE 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 35.6757, -118.0800. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 69 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 88 km (55 mi) NW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 116 km (72 mi) NNE earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 16km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  2. 1.8 16km E of Coso Junction, CA
  3. 1.9 19km E of Little Lake, CA
  4. 1.6 21km S of Bodfish, CA
  5. 1.7 20km S of Bodfish, CA
  6. 2.0 20km S of Bodfish, CA
  7. 2.0 20km S of Bodfish, CA
  8. 2.5 20km S of Bodfish, CA
  9. 2.3 15km E of Coso Junction, CA
  10. 2.0 13km E of Coso Junction, CA
  11. 1.7 13km E of Coso Junction, CA
  12. 2.1 13km E of Coso Junction, CA
  13. 1.8 23km E of Little Lake, CA
  14. 1.9 23km E of Little Lake, CA
  15. 1.9 34km W of Coso Junction, 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.