Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Tehachapi, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tehachapi in the 24 hours to 4:54 am PST (12:54 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 61 km (38 mi) ENE, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tehachapi
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Tehachapi, CA, at 8:58 pm PDT on 16 May 2020 (03:58 UTC), 4.3 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14km WNW of Tehachapi, CA
44 km (28 mi) ESE of Bakersfield, CA · 130 km (81 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 8:58 pm PDT on 16 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Tehachapi, CA · earthquakes near Tehachapi
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kern County, 22 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- White Wolf fault, 10 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 2368 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tehachapi, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tehachapi, CA. No account or email needed.
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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Tehachapi, 14 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: Bear Valley Springs, Stallion Springs, Golden Hills, Arvin, Weedpatch.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 30 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 23 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 34 km NW 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 35.1743, -118.5997. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 22 km (14 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Tulare County, CA | 118 km (74 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kings County, CA | 148 km (92 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.0 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 23km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 3.3 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 24km NE of Arvin, CA
- 1.5 7km S of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 21km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 17km SE of Arvin, CA
- 1.7 9km SSE of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.3 12km ESE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 19km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 7km S of Mojave, CA
- 2.0 24km N of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.0 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 7km S of Mojave, 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.