Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Arvin, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Arvin in the 24 hours to 5:59 am PST (13:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 14 km (9 mi) WSW, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Arvin
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south of Arvin, CA, at 10:43 am PST on 21 November 2020 (18:43 UTC), 2.8 km deep.
USGS: 14km S of Arvin, CA
36 km (22 mi) SSE of Bakersfield, CA · 124 km (77 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 10:43 am PST on 21 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) south of Arvin, CA · earthquakes near Arvin
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 31 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- White Wolf fault, 6 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 2179 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Arvin, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Arvin, 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Arvin, 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: Stallion Springs, Weedpatch, Bear Valley Springs, Lamont, Lebec.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 · 21 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 21 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 24 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 31 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 35.0813, -118.8300. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 31 km (19 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 126 km (78 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kings County, CA | 142 km (88 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 9km S of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 24km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 18km SW of Lamont, CA
- 1.8 23km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 2km SE of Frazier Park, CA
- 2.0 14km NNE of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.6 12km W of Mojave, CA
- 1.6 5km SE of Frazier Park, CA
- 2.0 8km ENE of Oildale, CA
- 1.6 19km WNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.3 2km SE of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.8 6km WSW of Gorman, CA
- 2.2 21km NNE of Arvin, 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.