Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Bakersfield, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bakersfield in the 24 hours to 7:30 am PST (15:30 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 21 km (13 mi) S, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Bakersfield
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) south of Bakersfield, CA, at 12:04 am PST on 31 December 2019 (08:04 UTC), 13 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km W of Grapevine, CA
46 km (28 mi) S of Bakersfield, CA · 118 km (73 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 12:04 am PST on 31 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) south of Bakersfield, CA · earthquakes near Bakersfield
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 53 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pleito fault, 5 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 2505 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bakersfield, CA
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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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Bakersfield, 48 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: Pine Mountain Club, Frazier Park, Lebec.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 32 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 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 4.1 on 2016-03-12 — about 1,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 4 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 13 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 4 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 48 km NNE 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 34.9428, -119.0375. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 13 km SSW of Rosedale, CA
- 2.9 13km SSW of Rosedale, CA
- 2.1 10km ESE of Maricopa, CA
- 1.6 10km ESE of Maricopa, CA
- 1.6 9km WNW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.6 16km NE of Ojai, CA
- 2.0 13km N of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 18km SSW of Gorman, CA
- 2.2 8km WNW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.6 8km ESE of Oildale, CA
- 3.7 6km SE of Oildale, CA
- 1.6 13km SSW of Lamont, CA
- 1.8 14km WNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 22km SW of Maricopa, CA
- 1.8 10km N of Taft, 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.