QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Lebec, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lebec in the 24 hours to 4:53 am PST (12:53 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 9 km (5 mi) ENE, at 9:24 pm PST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lebec

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Lebec, CA, at 8:19 am PST on 15 January 2022 (16:19 UTC), 7.3 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18km NE of Lebec, CA

52 km (32 mi) SSE of Bakersfield, CA · 109 km (67 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA

8:19 am PST, Jan 15, 2022 · · 7.3 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 43 kmVentura County 76 kmLos Angeles County 95 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
8:19 am PST on 15 January 2022 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) northeast of Lebec, CA · earthquakes near Lebec
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
7.3 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Kern County, 43 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Garlock fault, 6 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 1686 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Lebec, 18 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: Stallion Springs, Bear Valley Springs, Frazier Park, Arvin.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 29 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 24 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 17 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 30 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 47 km NNW 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 34.9595, -118.7328. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 43 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near Kern County
Ventura County, CA 76 km (47 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ventura County
Los Angeles County, CA 95 km (59 mi) SSE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Santa Barbara County, CA 128 km (80 mi) WSW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 11km NNW of Grapevine, CA
  2. 1.5 9km WSW of Grapevine, CA
  3. 1.6 2km SSE of Frazier Park, CA
  4. 1.6 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  5. 1.8 8km WSW of Grapevine, CA
  6. 1.5 8km W of Grapevine, CA
  7. 1.5 25km N of Tehachapi, CA
  8. 1.8 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
  9. 1.9 4km NNW of Frazier Park, CA
  10. 1.5 7km S of Mojave, CA
  11. 1.6 6km SSW of Mojave, CA
  12. 1.5 14km W of Mojave, CA
  13. 1.8 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  14. 3.3 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  15. 1.6 21km 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

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