Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Kernville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kernville in the 24 hours to 11:34 pm PST (07:34 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 27 km (17 mi) north-northeast of Kernville, CA, at 4:44 pm PST on 20 December 2017 (00:44 UTC), 3.7 km deep.
USGS: 27km NNE of Kernville, CA
94 km (59 mi) NE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 4:44 pm PST on 20 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) north-northeast of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 48 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 11 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 3249 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kernville, CA
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Kernville, 27 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 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 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 48 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 46 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.0 5 km S of Springville, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 22km WNW of Inyokern, CA · 41 km SE 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 35.9867, -118.3407. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Inyo County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 146 km (91 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 7km E of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.7 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 11km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.1 27km W of Olancha, CA
- 1.5 8km NE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.0 8km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.0 25km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 2.2 24km WNW of Inyokern, CA
- 1.6 10km NNW of Kernville, CA
- 1.7 6km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.8 9km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.7 3km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 10km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 2.0 10km ENE 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.