Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Oildale, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Oildale in the 24 hours to 6:14 am PST (14:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 110 km (68 mi) E, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oildale
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) north-northeast of Oildale, CA, at 4:56 am PST on 29 January 2020 (12:56 UTC), 18 km deep. 292 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km NNE of Oildale, CA
10 km (6 mi) NNE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 4:56 am PST on 29 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) north-northeast of Oildale, CA · earthquakes near Oildale
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 292 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Kern County, 27 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Front fault, 4 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 759 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oildale, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oildale, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. In Oildale, 2 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Oildale 2 km, intensity III · Bakersfield 7 km, intensity III · Rosedale 14 km, intensity II · Lamont 21 km, intensity II · Shafter 25 km, intensity II · Arvin 30 km, intensity II · Wasco 35 km, intensity II · Buttonwillow 42 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,200× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,800× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× more
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 330 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 24 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 14 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 36 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 11 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 9km NW of Grapevine, CA · 48 km S 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 35.4358, -119.0083. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 27 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 91 km (56 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kings County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Ventura County, CA | 120 km (75 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 137 km (85 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 14km S of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 18km SSW of Lamont, CA
- 3.0 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 23km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 24km NE of Arvin, CA
- 2.3 7km NNW of Delano, CA
- 1.9 17km SE of Arvin, CA
- 1.8 19km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 26km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 7km NNW of Delano, CA
- 1.9 24km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.3 24km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 14km SW of Arvin, CA
- 1.7 12km WNW of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.9 19km N of Pine Mountain Club, 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.