Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9ml
Earthquake near Buttonwillow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Buttonwillow in the 24 hours to 7:14 am PST (15:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 82 km (51 mi) SE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Buttonwillow
This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) south-southeast of Buttonwillow, CA, at 6:34 pm PST on 2 January 2022 (02:34 UTC), 18 km deep. 133 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 15km SSE of Buttonwillow, CA
33 km (20 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 6:34 pm PST on 2 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) south-southeast of Buttonwillow, CA · earthquakes near Buttonwillow
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 133 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 60 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1706 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Buttonwillow, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Buttonwillow, 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 89 km (55 mi) from the epicentre. In Buttonwillow, 15 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: Buttonwillow 15 km, intensity III · Taft 17 km, intensity III · Rosedale 25 km, intensity III · Maricopa 25 km, intensity III · Shafter 26 km, intensity III · Wasco 35 km, intensity III · Bakersfield 35 km, intensity III · Oildale 37 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 11 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 24× 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 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 27 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 45 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 46 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 9km NW of Grapevine, CA · 48 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 45 km SE 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 35.2840, -119.3907. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 60 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Kings County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Ventura County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Tulare County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 12km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 12km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.7 13km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 12km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 13km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 13km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 11km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.6 14km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 13km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.0 14km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 3.7 13km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 6km NW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 1.8 13km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.7 12km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.7 12km NW of Grapevine, 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.