Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
Earthquake near Wofford Heights, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Wofford Heights in the 24 hours to 1:52 pm PST (21:52 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 17 km (10 mi) NNE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wofford Heights
This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Wofford Heights, CA, at 3:49 pm PST on 21 November 2017 (23:49 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
70 km (44 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 3:49 pm PST on 21 November 2017 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Wofford Heights, CA · earthquakes near Wofford Heights
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Kern County, 50 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 4 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 3194 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wofford Heights, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Wofford Heights, CA. No account or email needed.
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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Wofford Heights, 6 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: Wofford Heights 6 km, intensity III · Bodfish 15 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 860 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 390,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 860 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 44 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 41 km S of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 25km SSW of Bodfish, CA · 39 km SSW 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 35.6957, -118.3875. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 131 km (81 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 164 km (102 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 3km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 28km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 28km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 17km W of Inyokern, CA
- 1.9 21km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 22km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.1 22km NE of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 5km W of Kernville, CA
- 1.7 5km WNW of Kernville, CA
- 1.6 24km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 25km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 25km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.5 25km 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
- 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.