Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Bodfish, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 7:14 am PST (15:14 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bodfish
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Bodfish, CA, at 10:37 pm PDT on 21 September 2017 (05:37 UTC), 4.8 km deep.
USGS: 26km SSW of Bodfish, CA
42 km (26 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA · 150 km (93 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 10:37 pm PDT on 21 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 14 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Breckenridge fault, 1 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 3304 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bodfish, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bodfish, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 26 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: Bear Valley Springs, Golden Hills, Tehachapi, Arvin, Lake Isabella.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 22 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 29 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 11 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 14 km SSE 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 35.3608, -118.5708. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 14 km (9 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 123 km (76 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kings County, CA | 137 km (85 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.7 5km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 3.7 22km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 9km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.7 3km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 13km W of Mojave, CA
- 2.0 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 23km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 21km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 22km NE of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 5km W of Kernville, CA
- 1.7 5km WNW of Kernville, CA
- 1.6 24km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 7km WSW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.7 19km NNE of Tehachapi, 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.