QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Buttonwillow, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Buttonwillow in the 24 hours to 5:38 am PST (13:38 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 82 km (51 mi) SE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Buttonwillow

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) southeast of Buttonwillow, CA, at 9:19 pm PST on 2 March 2018 (05:19 UTC), 25 km deep.

USGS: 15km SE of Buttonwillow, CA

29 km (18 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA

9:19 pm PST, Mar 2, 2018 · · 25 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Buttonwillow Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 57 kmKings County 96 kmSan Luis Obispo County 100 kmSanta Barbara County 105 kmVentura County 106 kmTulare County 116 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
9:19 pm PST on 2 March 2018 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) southeast of Buttonwillow, CA · earthquakes near Buttonwillow
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 57 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3174 days ago

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 Buttonwillow, 15 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: Ford City, Taft, South Taft, Taft Heights, Rosedale, Shafter.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 51,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 50 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 45 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 42 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 37 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 9km NW of Grapevine, CA · 46 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 35.2988, -119.3555. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 57 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Kern County
Kings County, CA 96 km (59 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 100 km (62 mi) W earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Santa Barbara County, CA 105 km (65 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 106 km (66 mi) S earthquakes near Ventura County
Tulare County, CA 116 km (72 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tulare 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. 2.1 19km E of Maricopa, CA
  2. 1.6 24km ENE of Maricopa, CA
  3. 2.6 16km NW of Grapevine, CA
  4. 1.7 16km NW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  5. 2.2 16km NW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  6. 2.2 16km NW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  7. 1.5 10km SE of Maricopa, CA
  8. 1.6 7km S of Lamont, CA
  9. 1.7 12km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  10. 2.0 12km SW of Taft, CA
  11. 2.2 23km SW of Maricopa, CA
  12. 2.1 22km NW of Grapevine, CA
  13. 1.8 9km WSW of Lamont, CA
  14. 1.8 10km W of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  15. 2.8 16km NNW of Grapevine, 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.