Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Bodfish, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 6:11 am PST (14:11 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bodfish
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Bodfish, CA, at 3:22 am PDT on 16 September 2020 (10:22 UTC), 6.3 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
62 km (39 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 3:22 am PDT on 16 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 36 km WSW
- 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 2248 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bodfish, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bodfish, CA. No account or email needed.
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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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 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.
Likely felt in: Bodfish 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 35 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 440,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 310,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 28× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 35 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 24 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 35.5102, -118.3805. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 36 km (23 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 146 km (91 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 11km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 11km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 21km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 21km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 14km SE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 2.9 21km SSW of Little Lake, CA
- 2.2 21km NNE of Arvin, CA
- 1.9 23km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 32km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 2.0 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 13km NE of Kernville, CA
- 2.0 21km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.5 11km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.1 32km ESE of Lake Isabella, 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.