QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Bodfish, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 7:33 am PST (15:33 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bodfish

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) south of Bodfish, CA, at 1:32 pm PDT on 17 June 2020 (20:32 UTC), 1.8 km deep.

USGS: 25km S of Bodfish, CA

51 km (31 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA · 150 km (93 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA

1:32 pm PDT, Jun 17, 2020 · · 1.8 km deep · released about 700 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 23 kmTulare County 100 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
1:32 pm PDT on 17 June 2020 ()
Where
25 km (16 mi) south of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
1.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 23 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Breckenridge fault, 7 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 2266 days ago

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 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 25 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.

Likely felt in: Bodfish 25 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 38 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 41 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 7 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 13 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 35.3635, -118.4800. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 23 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 100 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Ventura County, CA 127 km (79 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ventura County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 14km S of Arvin, CA
  2. 1.5 6km S of Mojave, CA
  3. 2.1 14km S of Arvin, CA
  4. 3.1 14km S of Arvin, CA
  5. 2.0 10km SSW of Arvin, CA
  6. 2.3 10km SSW of Arvin, CA
  7. 1.6 7km S of Mojave, CA
  8. 1.8 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  9. 1.6 21km S of Bodfish, CA
  10. 1.6 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  11. 1.5 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  12. 1.7 14km S of Arvin, CA
  13. 1.6 18km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  14. 3.0 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  15. 1.6 23km NNW of Tehachapi, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.