QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Lebec, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lebec in the 24 hours to 5:39 am PST (13:39 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 9 km (5 mi) ENE, at 9:24 pm PST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lebec

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) west of Lebec, CA, at 12:41 pm PST on 29 November 2017 (20:41 UTC), 9.5 km deep. 45 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4km W of Lebec, CA

58 km (36 mi) SSE of Bakersfield, CA · 102 km (64 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA

12:41 pm PST, Nov 29, 2017 · · 9.5 km deep · released about 1,400 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 58 kmVentura County 58 kmLos Angeles County 93 kmSanta Barbara County 109 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
12:41 pm PST on 29 November 2017 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) west of Lebec, CA · earthquakes near Lebec
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
9.5 km below the surface
Felt
45 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kern County, 58 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Garlock 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 3187 days ago

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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Lebec, 4 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: Frazier Park 4 km, intensity III · Arvin 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2016-03-12 — about 34 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 15 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 6 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 21 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 18 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 18 km NNE 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 34.8452, -118.9038. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 58 km (36 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kern County
Ventura County, CA 58 km (36 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ventura County
Los Angeles County, CA 93 km (58 mi) SE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Santa Barbara County, CA 109 km (68 mi) WSW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 14km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  2. 2.8 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
  3. 1.8 15km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  4. 1.8 7km WNW of Castaic, CA
  5. 2.2 14km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  6. 2.3 11km WSW of Grapevine, CA
  7. 2.6 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
  8. 1.6 3km N of Grapevine, CA
  9. 1.6 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
  10. 1.6 15km WNW of Grapevine, CA
  11. 1.6 15km WNW of Grapevine, CA
  12. 2.5 21km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  13. 1.6 10km ESE of Maricopa, CA
  14. 2.2 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
  15. 2.0 4km NW of Frazier Park, 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.