Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Kernville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kernville in the 24 hours to 2:25 pm PST (22:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 11 km (7 mi) NE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kernville
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) northeast of Kernville, CA, at 4:35 am PST on 12 December 2017 (12:35 UTC), 15 km deep.
USGS: 21km NE of Kernville, CA
92 km (57 mi) NE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 4:35 am PST on 12 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 21 km (13 mi) northeast of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 57 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 14 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 Kernville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Kernville, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Kernville, 21 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Weldon, Wofford Heights.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 39 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 38 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 15km NNE of Inyokern, CA · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 39 km ENE 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 35.9117, -118.2878. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Inyo County, CA | 107 km (67 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 3km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 10km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.0 10km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.2 10km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.9 10km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.8 28km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 28km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 17km W of Inyokern, CA
- 1.5 22km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 1.6 15km E of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.7 18km NNE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.8 11km ESE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 6km E of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 5km W of Kernville, CA
- 1.5 17km NNE of Coso Junction, 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.