Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mw
Earthquake near Bakersfield, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bakersfield in the 24 hours to 6:51 am PST (14:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 21 km (13 mi) S, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Bakersfield
This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) south of Bakersfield, CA, at 9:36 am PDT on 16 April 2018 (16:36 UTC), 7.7 km deep. 60 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 15km NW of Grapevine, CA
34 km (21 mi) S of Bakersfield, CA · 128 km (79 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 9:36 am PDT on 16 April 2018 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) south of Bakersfield, CA · earthquakes near Bakersfield
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mw)
- Depth
- 7.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 60 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 44 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wheeler Ridge 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 3030 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bakersfield, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 81 km (50 mi) from the epicentre. In Bakersfield, 37 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Frazier Park 26 km, intensity III · Lamont 27 km, intensity III · Arvin 27 km, intensity III · Maricopa 33 km, intensity III · Bakersfield 37 km, intensity III · Rosedale 39 km, intensity II · Taft 39 km, intensity II · Oildale 42 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 24,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 15× more
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 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 10 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 21 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 36 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 8 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 37 km NNE 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 35.0435, -119.0423. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 77 km (48 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kings County, CA | 134 km (83 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 20km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 21km SSW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.6 9km W of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.4 16km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.9 9km WSW of Arvin, CA
- 2.1 21km E of Maricopa, CA
- 1.6 24km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.7 6km SSW of Gorman, CA
- 1.5 20km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.9 17km SSW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.4 24km NE of Lamont, CA
- 2.0 13km E of Arvin, CA
- 1.9 6km W of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 15km NNE of Lamont, CA
- 2.1 16km SSW 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.