QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near California City, CA

USGS: 33km SE of Bodfish, CA

75 km (47 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA

2:53 pm PST, Nov 22, 2016 · · 4.7 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near California City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 47 kmTulare County 105 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
2:53 pm PST on 22 November 2016 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) NW of California City, CA · earthquakes near California City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
4.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 47 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 15 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) NW of California City, CA, at 2:53 pm PST on 22 November 2016 (22:53 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 25 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 31 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 24 km WSW 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 35.4010, -118.2138. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 47 km (29 mi) W earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 105 km (65 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Ventura County, CA 143 km (89 mi) SW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 1 km NW of Keene, California
  2. 2.4 1 km NW of Keene, California
  3. 1.5 6 km SSW of Mojave, California
  4. 1.7 9 km SE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, California
  5. 3.1 14km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
  6. 1.9 11km SE of Tehachapi, CA
  7. 1.7 21km ENE of Arvin, CA
  8. 2.1 24km NE of Lamont, CA
  9. 1.6 14km W of Mojave, CA
  10. 2.2 17km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  11. 2.6 27km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  12. 1.7 10km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  13. 1.6 10km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  14. 1.7 21km WNW of Inyokern, CA
  15. 2.4 21km WNW of Inyokern, 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.