Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Lake Isabella, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lake Isabella in the 24 hours to 5:05 am PST (13:05 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 9 km (6 mi) NE, at 2:37 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 30 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lake Isabella
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Lake Isabella, CA, at 12:59 pm PDT on 3 May 2021 (19:59 UTC), 3.0 km deep.
USGS: 6km SE of Lake Isabella, CA
61 km (38 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 12:59 pm PDT on 3 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Lake Isabella, CA · earthquakes near Lake Isabella
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 38 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon 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 2018 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lake Isabella, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lake Isabella, 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 Lake Isabella, 6 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 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 12 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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 47 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 31 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 38 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 35.5813, -118.4195. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 142 km (88 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 19km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 25km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 25km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.6 25km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 12km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 10km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 15km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 16km NW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.9 12km SE of Bodfish, 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.