QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Lake Isabella, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lake Isabella in the 24 hours to 3:03 am PST (11:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 9 km (6 mi) NE, at 2:37 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 30 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lake Isabella

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east of Lake Isabella, CA, at 3:49 am PST on 23 December 2018 (11:49 UTC), 6.7 km deep.

USGS: 14km E of Lake Isabella, CA

73 km (45 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

3:49 am PST, Dec 23, 2018 · · 6.7 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lake Isabella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 50 kmTulare County 77 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
3:49 am PST on 23 December 2018 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) east of Lake Isabella, CA · earthquakes near Lake Isabella
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 50 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Kern Canyon fault, 13 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 2881 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake Isabella, 14 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: Weldon, Wofford Heights, Kernville, Bodfish, Alta Sierra.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 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 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 35 km ENE 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 35.6420, -118.3180. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 50 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 77 km (48 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 131 km (82 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

38 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.3 22km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  2. 1.6 8km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
  3. 1.6 18km NW of Inyokern, CA
  4. 1.8 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  5. 1.7 22km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
  6. 1.5 20km ENE of Arvin, CA
  7. 1.9 20km ENE of Arvin, CA
  8. 1.7 24km S of Bodfish, CA
  9. 1.6 24km ENE of Arvin, CA
  10. 2.4 23km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  11. 1.7 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  12. 1.7 32km NNE of Kernville, CA
  13. 2.5 8km WNW of Little Lake, CA
  14. 1.6 32km SE of Bodfish, CA
  15. 1.5 32km SE of Bodfish, 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.