Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Wofford Heights, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Wofford Heights in the 24 hours to 3:10 am PST (11:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 17 km (10 mi) NNE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wofford Heights
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Wofford Heights, CA, at 2:31 pm PDT on 8 May 2021 (21:31 UTC), 5.6 km deep.
USGS: 12km WNW of Wofford Heights, CA
62 km (39 mi) NE of Bakersfield, CA · 53 km (33 mi) SE of Porterville, CA
- When
- 2:31 pm PDT on 8 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Wofford Heights, CA · earthquakes near Wofford Heights
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kern County, 49 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 12 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 2013 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wofford Heights, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Wofford Heights, 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 Wofford Heights, 12 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: Alta Sierra, Kernville, Lake Isabella, Bodfish, Weldon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 25km SSW of Bodfish, CA · 44 km S of this epicentre
- 5.2 18km NNE of Lamont, CA · 46 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 26km NE of Arvin, CA · 43 km S of this epicentre
- 5.0 30 km ENE of Bakersfield, California · 32 km SSW 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 35.7638, -118.5698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kings County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Inyo County, CA | 137 km (85 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 148 km (92 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
38 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 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
- 1.9 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 13km 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.