QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Earthquake near Bodfish, CA

USGS: 8km ESE of Bodfish, CA

61 km (38 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

2:47 pm PDT, Mar 13, 2017 · · 3.5 km deep · released about 69 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 37 kmTulare County 82 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
2:47 pm PDT on 13 March 2017 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) ESE of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
3.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 37 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Kern Canyon fault, 9 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 3426 days ago

A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) ESE of Bodfish, CA, at 2:47 pm PDT on 13 March 2017 (21:47 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lake Isabella, Weldon, Wofford Heights, Kernville, Alta Sierra.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 69 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 220,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 69 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 45 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 49 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 28 km S 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 35.5545, -118.4112. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 82 km (51 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 144 km (90 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo 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. 2.2 20km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  2. 1.5 16km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  3. 1.6 16km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  4. 1.6 18km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  5. 1.8 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  6. 2.2 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  7. 1.6 14km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
  8. 2.3 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  9. 2.0 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  10. 2.7 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  11. 1.9 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  12. 3.5 29km ESE of Kernville, CA
  13. 1.6 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  14. 1.6 17km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  15. 1.6 17km SSE of Bodfish, 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.