QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Tehachapi, CA

USGS: 32km SE of Bodfish, CA

74 km (46 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA

4:45 pm PST, Dec 9, 2016 · · 8.2 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tehachapi 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
4:45 pm PST on 9 December 2016 ()
Where
36 km (23 mi) NE of Tehachapi, CA · earthquakes near Tehachapi
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.2 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 36 km (23 mi) NE of Tehachapi, CA, at 4:45 pm PST on 9 December 2016 (00:45 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 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 · 42 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 · 30 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 23 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 35.4018, -118.2207. 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

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

  1. 1.7 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  2. 1.5 6km S of Mojave, CA
  3. 1.5 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
  4. 1.9 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  5. 1.5 3km NE of Kernville, CA
  6. 1.6 7km WNW of Johannesburg, CA
  7. 3.6 8km WNW of Johannesburg, CA
  8. 1.6 3km NW of Wofford Heights, CA
  9. 1.5 6 km SSW of Mojave, California
  10. 1.7 9 km SE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, California
  11. 1.7 9 km N of Keene, California
  12. 1.6 27 km SSE of Squirrel Mountain Valley, California
  13. 2.0 1 km NW of Keene, California
  14. 2.4 1 km NW of Keene, California
  15. 1.5 6 km SSW of Mojave, California

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.