Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Lamont, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lamont in the 24 hours to 5:42 am PST (13:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 10 km (6 mi) SW, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Lamont
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Lamont, CA, at 10:56 am PDT on 4 September 2023 (17:56 UTC), 13 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 19 km SW of Lamont, CA
26 km (16 mi) S of Bakersfield, CA · 135 km (84 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 10:56 am PDT on 4 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Lamont, CA · earthquakes near Lamont
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 38 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wheeler Ridge fault, 10 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 1091 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lamont, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lamont, 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 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Lamont, 19 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: Lamont 19 km, intensity III · Arvin 21 km, intensity II · Bakersfield 29 km, intensity II · Rosedale 31 km, intensity II · Frazier Park 34 km, intensity II · Oildale 34 km, intensity II · Maricopa 34 km, intensity II · Taft 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,100× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.8× 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 18 km S of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 27 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 29 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 16 km S of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 30 km NNE 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 35.1167, -119.0342. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 38 km (23 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Kings County, CA | 128 km (79 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 4 km N of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.7 24 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 2.2 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 17 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 8 km E of Lebec, CA
- 2.0 2 km S of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.3 23 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 2 km NNW of Frazier Park, CA
- 1.6 26 km NE of Lamont, CA
- 1.8 2 km E of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 2.1 14 km E of Maricopa, CA
- 1.5 18 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.5 4 km NE of Frazier Park, CA
- 2.5 4 km W of Lebec, CA
- 1.8 23 km 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
- 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.