Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Maricopa, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Maricopa in the 24 hours to 5:58 am PST (13:58 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 51 km (32 mi) ESE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Maricopa
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Maricopa, CA, at 4:12 am PDT on 15 September 2017 (11:12 UTC), 11 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km ESE of Maricopa, CA
43 km (27 mi) SW of Bakersfield, CA · 139 km (87 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:12 am PDT on 15 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Maricopa, CA · earthquakes near Maricopa
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 13 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 63 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wheeler Ridge fault, 7 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 3256 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Maricopa, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricopa, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Maricopa 9 km, intensity III · Taft 19 km, intensity II · Frazier Park 40 km, intensity II · Rosedale 42 km, intensity II · Lamont 43 km, intensity II · Buttonwillow 44 km, intensity II · Bakersfield 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 160,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,200× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.2× more
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 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 29 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 23 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 46 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 46 km E 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 35.0328, -119.3032. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 125 km (77 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 133 km (83 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 9km WSW of Arvin, CA
- 2.1 21km E of Maricopa, CA
- 2.0 11km W of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.1 16km SSW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.6 2km S of Lamont, CA
- 2.1 7km S of Lamont, CA
- 2.8 7km S of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 14km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.8 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 15km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.2 14km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.3 11km WSW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.6 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 3km N of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 15km NW of Grapevine, 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.