Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mw
Earthquake near Bodfish, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 6:12 am PST (14:12 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 4.0 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Bodfish, CA, at 5:34 am PDT on 27 August 2021 (12:34 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 325 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
62 km (39 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 5:34 am PDT on 27 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mw)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 325 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- 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 1827 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bodfish, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bodfish, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 97 km (60 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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 IV · Wofford Heights 22 km, intensity III · Tehachapi 43 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 11,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 32× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 25 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 35.5152, -118.3792. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction 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 | 146 km (91 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 20km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 2.3 24km ENE of Arvin, CA
- 2.2 32km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.6 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 4km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 14km E of Arvin, CA
- 1.7 28km NW of California City, CA
- 1.6 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 14km E of Arvin, CA
- 2.1 11km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.4 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 23km N of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.8 24km ENE 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
- 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.