Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Porterville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Porterville in the 24 hours to 8:49 am PST (16:49 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) SE, at 3:02 pm PDT on 22 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Porterville
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) east of Porterville, CA, at 10:01 am PST on 9 December 2020 (18:01 UTC), 12 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km E of Porterville, CA
14 km (9 mi) E of Porterville, CA · 81 km (50 mi) N of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 10:01 am PST on 9 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) east of Porterville, CA · earthquakes near Porterville
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 20 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2160 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Porterville, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Porterville, 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Porterville, 13 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: East Porterville, Strathmore, Terra Bella, Lindsay, Poplar-Cotton Center, Woodville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 22 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 680,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 480,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 43× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 22 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 5 km S of Springville, California · 4 km ENE 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 36.0658, -118.8735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 20 km (12 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Kings County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Fresno County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 45 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.8 7 km NNW of Delano, CA
- 2.4 28 km ENE of Porterville, CA
- 1.6 17 km E of Delano, CA
- 2.5 34 km SE of Three Rivers, CA
- 2.1 27 km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.8 26 km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 1.5 8 km E of Porterville, CA
- 2.0 6 km N of Delano, CA
- 2.2 8 km N of Delano, CA
- 1.5 22km ENE of Delano, CA
- 1.6 26km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 2.0 15km ESE of Porterville, CA
- 1.7 24km N of Kernville, CA
- 1.9 7km NNE of Porterville, 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.