QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5mw

Earthquake near Bodfish, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 2:12 pm PST (22:12 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bodfish

This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Bodfish, CA, at 9:58 pm PDT on 2 July 2021 (04:58 UTC), 6.5 km deep. 60 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 13km SE of Bodfish, CA

63 km (39 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

9:58 pm PDT, Jul 2, 2021 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 2.4 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Bodfish Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 37 kmTulare County 87 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
9:58 pm PDT on 2 July 2021 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) southeast of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
Magnitude
M 3.5 (mw)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
60 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Kern County, 37 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Kern Canyon fault, 13 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 1889 days ago

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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 13 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: Bodfish 13 km, intensity III · Wofford Heights 22 km, intensity III · Tehachapi 43 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 70,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,100× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.1× 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 25 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 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 35.5178, -118.3782. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 37 km (23 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 87 km (54 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 145 km (90 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 14km E of Arvin, CA
  2. 2.1 11km SSE of Bodfish, CA
  3. 2.4 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  4. 1.8 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  5. 1.6 23km N of Tehachapi, CA
  6. 1.8 24km ENE of Arvin, CA
  7. 1.6 13km N of Tehachapi, CA
  8. 1.9 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  9. 1.5 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  10. 1.5 22km N of Mojave, CA
  11. 2.3 25km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  12. 1.6 22km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  13. 1.6 21km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  14. 1.7 22km SE of Bodfish, CA
  15. 2.6 14km E of Arvin, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.