QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Mojave, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Mojave in the 24 hours to 8:26 am PST (16:26 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 44 km (27 mi) NE, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mojave

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Mojave, CA, at 10:26 am PDT on 10 September 2017 (17:26 UTC), 4.4 km deep.

USGS: 12km WNW of Mojave, CA

45 km (28 mi) NNW of Lancaster, CA · 119 km (74 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA

10:26 am PDT, Sep 10, 2017 · · 4.4 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 49 kmLos Angeles County 99 kmVentura County 112 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
10:26 am PDT on 10 September 2017 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Mojave, CA · earthquakes near Mojave
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
4.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 49 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Garlock fault, 3 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 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Mojave, 12 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: Tehachapi, Golden Hills, Rosamond, California City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 25 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 29 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 26 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 47 km W 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 35.0887, -118.2950. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 49 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Kern County
Los Angeles County, CA 99 km (62 mi) S earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 112 km (69 mi) SW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  2. 1.5 20km N of Tehachapi, CA
  3. 2.2 22km SE of Bodfish, CA
  4. 2.2 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  5. 2.1 24km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  6. 2.5 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  7. 1.7 20km S of Bodfish, CA
  8. 1.8 7km S of Mojave, CA
  9. 2.2 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  10. 2.2 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  11. 1.6 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
  12. 1.5 13km SE of Tehachapi, CA
  13. 1.6 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
  14. 1.6 6km WSW of Mojave, CA
  15. 1.6 9km 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.