Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Arvin, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Arvin in the 24 hours to 7:12 am PST (15:12 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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east of Arvin, CA, at 4:35 am PDT on 3 April 2023 (11:35 UTC), 6.0 km deep. 40 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14km E of Arvin, CA
37 km (23 mi) ESE of Bakersfield, CA · 134 km (83 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:35 am PDT on 3 April 2023 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) east of Arvin, CA · earthquakes near Arvin
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 40 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 17 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- White Wolf fault, 3 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 1249 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 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 40 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Arvin, 14 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: Arvin 14 km, intensity III · Tehachapi 22 km, intensity II · Lamont 23 km, intensity II · Bakersfield 37 km, intensity II · Oildale 40 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 270,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 12,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 8,500× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.3× 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 4.0 on 2021-08-27 — about 24 times the energy of this one.
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 · 40 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 16 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 44 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 26 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 35.2038, -118.6722. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 17 km (10 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Tulare County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kings County, CA | 141 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
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.3 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 18km WSW of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 13km ESE of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.4 20km SSW of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 24km E of Maricopa, CA
- 1.7 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 5km S of Bakersfield, CA
- 1.5 13 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 21km SW of Lamont, CA
- 1.7 21km SW of Lamont, CA
- 1.5 20km SW of Lamont, CA
- 2.1 19km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 20km SW of Lamont, 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.