Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Taft, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Taft in the 24 hours to 4:10 am PST (12:10 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 61 km (38 mi) SE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Taft
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 17 km (10 mi) northeast of Taft, CA, at 2:39 pm PST on 3 November 2019 (22:39 UTC), 26 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 17km NE of Taft, CA
29 km (18 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 2:39 pm PST on 3 November 2019 ()
- Where
- 17 km (10 mi) northeast of Taft, CA · earthquakes near Taft
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 26 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Kern County, 55 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 757 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Taft, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Taft, 17 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: Ford City, South Taft, Taft Heights, Maricopa, Buttonwillow, Rosedale.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 7,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 43 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 38 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 48 km E 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 35.2438, -119.3220. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 102 km (64 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kings County, CA | 102 km (64 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Tulare County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 27km NE of Simmler, CA
- 2.6 27km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.6 28km NE of Simmler, CA
- 2.1 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.4 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.2 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 2.3 28km NE of Simmler, CA
- 1.6 8km ESE of Oildale, CA
- 3.7 6km SE of Oildale, CA
- 1.6 13km SSW of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 22km SW of Maricopa, CA
- 1.5 4km NNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 1.6 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, CA
- 1.7 28km WNW of Buttonwillow, 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.