Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Maricopa, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Maricopa in the 24 hours to 4:58 am PST (12:58 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 51 km (32 mi) ESE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Maricopa
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) southeast of Maricopa, CA, at 9:50 pm PST on 5 February 2018 (05:50 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 15km SE of Maricopa, CA
49 km (30 mi) SSW of Bakersfield, CA · 132 km (82 mi) NW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 9:50 pm PST on 5 February 2018 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) southeast of Maricopa, CA · earthquakes near Maricopa
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Kern County, 66 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pleito fault, 2 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 3200 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Maricopa, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Maricopa, 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricopa, 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: Pine Mountain Club, South Taft, Taft, Taft Heights, Ford City.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 26 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 20 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 Southwest of Tejon Pass, California · 39 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 44 km E 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 34.9635, -119.2828. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 16km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.0 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.7 7km NW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.8 25km ENE of Maricopa, CA
- 1.6 17km S of Maricopa, CA
- 1.5 15km WNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.1 16km SW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 1.7 24km ENE of Maricopa, CA
- 1.9 14km WNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.9 17km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 3.0 5km WNW of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 10km E of Taft, CA
- 1.8 21km SSW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.6 14km NE of Ojai, CA
- 2.4 16km N of Pine Mountain Club, 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.