QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Rosedale, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Rosedale in the 24 hours to 6:06 am PST (14:06 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 121 km (75 mi) E, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Rosedale

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 17 km (10 mi) west-southwest of Rosedale, CA, at 7:19 am PDT on 29 August 2021 (14:19 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 17km WSW of Rosedale, CA

25 km (15 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA

7:19 am PDT, Aug 29, 2021 · · 20 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 53 kmKings County 97 kmSan Luis Obispo County 104 kmVentura County 107 kmSanta Barbara County 109 kmTulare County 113 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
7:19 am PDT on 29 August 2021 ()
Where
17 km (10 mi) west-southwest of Rosedale, CA · earthquakes near Rosedale
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 53 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1900 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Rosedale, 17 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: Buttonwillow, Greenacres, Shafter, Ford City, Taft, South Taft.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 55,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 48 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 46 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 38 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 49 km ESE 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 35.3085, -119.3063. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 53 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Kern County
Kings County, CA 97 km (60 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 104 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Ventura County, CA 107 km (66 mi) S earthquakes near Ventura County
Santa Barbara County, CA 109 km (68 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Tulare County, CA 113 km (70 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tulare County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 15km SSW of Lamont, CA
  2. 1.9 15km SE of Buttonwillow, CA
  3. 1.6 11km NE of Maricopa, CA
  4. 1.6 12km NW of Grapevine, CA
  5. 2.7 24km E of Maricopa, CA
  6. 3.1 19km SSW of Lamont, CA
  7. 3.1 11km SW of Lamont, CA
  8. 2.3 14km SSE of Buttonwillow, CA
  9. 3.3 17km SSE of Maricopa, CA
  10. 1.8 11km NNW of Grapevine, CA
  11. 1.5 9km WSW of Grapevine, CA
  12. 1.9 22km SW of Maricopa, CA
  13. 1.5 8km W of Grapevine, CA
  14. 1.5 12km NW of Grapevine, CA
  15. 1.5 11km SW 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.