Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Bakersfield, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bakersfield in the 24 hours to 7:17 am PST (15:17 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 43 km (27 mi) south-southeast of Bakersfield, CA, at 10:48 pm PST on 15 February 2020 (06:48 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 8km NE of Grapevine, CA
41 km (26 mi) SSE of Bakersfield, CA · 118 km (73 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 10:48 pm PST on 15 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) south-southeast of Bakersfield, CA · earthquakes near Bakersfield
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 40 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pleito fault, 8 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 2459 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bakersfield, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Bakersfield, 43 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: Lebec, Frazier Park, Arvin, Stallion Springs, Weedpatch, Lamont.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 36 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 5.8 420,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 27× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 36 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 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 12 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 12 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 17 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 39 km N 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 35.0043, -118.8792. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kings County, CA | 146 km (91 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 14km SW of Arvin, CA
- 2.3 13km W of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 19km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.0 18km ESE of Maricopa, CA
- 1.8 16km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.3 7km WNW of Grapevine, CA
- 3.6 10km W of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 7km WSW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.0 7km SSE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 7km SSE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 7km NNW of Lamont, CA
- 2.0 13 km SSW of Rosedale, CA
- 2.9 13km SSW of Rosedale, CA
- 2.1 15 km N of Castaic, CA
- 1.6 14km N of Castaic, 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.