Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Porterville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Porterville in the 24 hours to 7:07 am PST (15:07 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) SE, at 3:02 pm PDT on 22 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Porterville
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) east-southeast of Porterville, CA, at 3:05 am PDT on 3 July 2019 (10:05 UTC), 6.2 km deep.
USGS: 31km ESE of Porterville, CA
80 km (50 mi) NNE of Bakersfield, CA · 33 km (20 mi) E of Porterville, CA
- When
- 3:05 am PDT on 3 July 2019 ()
- Where
- 31 km (19 mi) east-southeast of Porterville, CA · earthquakes near Porterville
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 26 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 20 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 2689 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Porterville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Porterville, 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Porterville, 31 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: East Porterville.
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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 5 km S of Springville, California · 16 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 25 km SSW of Posey, California · 47 km SSW 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 36.0068, -118.6763. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Kings County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Inyo County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 16km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 2.2 7km NW of Wofford Heights, CA
- 2.1 31km W of Olancha, CA
- 2.5 31km W of Olancha, CA
- 2.3 32km W of Olancha, CA
- 3.1 31km W of Olancha, CA
- 2.0 20km NW of Kernville, CA
- 1.7 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 6km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.9 6km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 2.1 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.2 18km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.0 29km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 28km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 2.0 29km NNE of Kernville, 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.