Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Bakersfield, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bakersfield in the 24 hours to 7:42 am PST (15:42 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Bakersfield, CA, at 3:29 pm PDT on 5 May 2018 (22:29 UTC), 22 km deep.
USGS: 10km SSW of Bakersfield, CA
10 km (6 mi) SSW of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 3:29 pm PDT on 5 May 2018 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Bakersfield, CA · earthquakes near Bakersfield
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 22 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 31 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Edison fault, 23 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 3031 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bakersfield, CA
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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 Bakersfield, 13 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: Lamont, Weedpatch, Greenacres, Rosedale, Oildale, Arvin.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 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 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 45,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 35 km S of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 24 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 33 km S of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 18 km NE 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 35.2655, -119.0608. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 31 km (20 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Tulare County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kings County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.1 22km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 12km WNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 10km E of Taft, CA
- 1.7 20km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 9km W of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 25km NNW 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
- 1.5 20km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 2.4 24km NE of Lamont, CA
- 2.0 13km E of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 15km NNE of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 2km S of Lamont, 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.