Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Arvin, CA
USGS: 24km NE of Arvin, CA
39 km (24 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA · 148 km (92 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 2:36 am PST on 19 November 2016 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) NE of Arvin, CA · earthquakes near Arvin
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 11 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Breckenridge fault, 5 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 3523 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) NE of Arvin, CA, at 2:36 am PST on 19 November 2016 (10:36 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bear Valley Springs, Golden Hills, Tehachapi, Stallion Springs, Lamont, Bodfish.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.6 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 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 18 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 26 km W of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 14 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 14 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 43 km SSW 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 35.3390, -118.6107. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 11 km (7 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kings County, CA | 136 km (84 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 16km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.8 27km NE of Arvin, CA
- 1.9 16km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 3.0 18km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 3km NW of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.7 9 km SE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, California
- 1.7 9 km N of Keene, California
- 1.6 27 km SSE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, California
- 2.0 1 km NW of Keene, California
- 2.4 1 km NW of Keene, California
- 1.7 9 km SE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, California
- 3.1 14km ESE of Lake Isabella, 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.