Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5mw
Earthquake near Oildale, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oildale in the 24 hours to 2:37 am PST (10:37 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 110 km (68 mi) E, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oildale
This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Oildale, CA, at 7:41 pm PDT on 9 June 2019 (02:41 UTC), 13 km deep. 338 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16km E of Oildale, CA
18 km (11 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 7:41 pm PDT on 9 June 2019 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) east of Oildale, CA · earthquakes near Oildale
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (mw)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 338 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 12 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Edison fault, 9 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 2360 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oildale, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oildale, 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 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 60 km (37 mi) from the epicentre. In Oildale, 16 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: Oildale 16 km, intensity III · Bakersfield 16 km, intensity III · Lamont 17 km, intensity III · Arvin 22 km, intensity II · Rosedale 27 km, intensity II · Bodfish 38 km, intensity II · Shafter 40 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 72,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,200× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,300× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.9× 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 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 12 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 7 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 47 km S 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 35.4062, -118.8450. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 12 km (8 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kings County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Ventura County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 146 km (90 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 25km N of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 23km NE of Oildale, CA
- 1.8 7km WSW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 17km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 7km NW of Wofford Heights, CA
- 2.1 17km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.6 7km SSW of Lamont, CA
- 2.4 17km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.3 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.6 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 8km E of Bakersfield, CA
- 1.8 18km WNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 17km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 23km NNW of Tehachapi, 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.