QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Oildale, CA, at 8:20 pm PDT on 9 June 2019 (03:20 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 16km E of Oildale, CA

19 km (12 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

8:20 pm PDT, Jun 9, 2019 · · 11 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 12 kmTulare County 92 kmKings County 115 kmVentura County 120 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
8:20 pm PDT on 9 June 2019 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) east of Oildale, CA · earthquakes near Oildale
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
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 2690 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Oildale, 16 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: Bakersfield, Lamont, Weedpatch, Arvin, Greenacres, Rosedale.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.3 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 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 13 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 7 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 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 35.4070, -118.8435. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection 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 120 km (74 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 146 km (91 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

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

  1. 1.6 25km N of Tehachapi, CA
  2. 1.5 23km NE of Oildale, CA
  3. 1.8 7km WSW of Tehachapi, CA
  4. 1.6 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  5. 1.7 17km SE of Bodfish, CA
  6. 2.2 7km NW of Wofford Heights, CA
  7. 2.1 17km SE of Bodfish, CA
  8. 2.6 7km SSW of Lamont, CA
  9. 2.4 17km SE of Bodfish, CA
  10. 2.3 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
  11. 2.6 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  12. 1.6 8km E of Bakersfield, CA
  13. 1.8 18km WNW of Tehachapi, CA
  14. 1.7 17km NW of Tehachapi, CA
  15. 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.