Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Lost Hills, CA
USGS: 10km NNE of Simmler, CA
85 km (53 mi) W of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 7:00 am PST on 12 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 32 km (20 mi) SW of Lost Hills, CA · earthquakes near Lost Hills
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Luis Obispo County, 44 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 2 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 32 km (20 mi) SW of Lost Hills, CA, at 7:00 am PST on 12 January 2017 (15:00 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 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 43 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 47 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 11 km NNE of Shandon, California · 47 km NW 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 35.4388, -119.9718. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Kings County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | S | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kern County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 139 km (86 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 25km SE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 18km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.5 8km S of Buttonwillow, CA
- 1.9 27km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.5 3km NE of Cholame, CA
- 2.5 25 km S of Kettleman City, California
- 2.2 25 km NW of Lost Hills, California
- 1.7 12km ESE of Simmler, CA
- 1.5 30 km ESE of Shandon, California
- 1.6 11 km NNE of Shandon, California
- 1.8 21 km S of Avenal, California
- 1.7 20km W of Taft, CA
- 1.9 24 km SE of Kettleman City, California
- 1.9 23 km SE of Kettleman City, California
- 1.9 18 km SE of Kettleman City, 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
- 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.