QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.7mw

Earthquake near Mojave, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Mojave in the 24 hours to 5:13 am PST (13:13 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 44 km (27 mi) NE, at 8:01 am PDT on 23 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mojave

This page: a magnitude 3.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) west of Mojave, CA, at 6:42 pm PDT on 1 October 2021 (01:42 UTC), 2.7 km deep. 129 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14km W of Mojave, CA

44 km (27 mi) NNW of Lancaster, CA · 117 km (73 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA

6:42 pm PDT, Oct 1, 2021 · · 2.7 km deep · released about 5 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Mojave Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 48 kmLos Angeles County 97 kmVentura County 108 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
6:42 pm PDT on 1 October 2021 ()
Where
14 km (8 mi) west of Mojave, CA · earthquakes near Mojave
Magnitude
M 3.7 (mw)
Depth
2.7 km below the surface
Felt
129 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Kern County, 48 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Garlock fault, 2 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 1798 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 74 km (46 mi) from the epicentre. In Mojave, 14 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: Mojave 14 km, intensity III · Tehachapi 14 km, intensity III · California City 31 km, intensity III · Arvin 49 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 34,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.7 about 5 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 10× 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 4.0 on 2021-08-27 — about 3 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 28 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 29 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 26 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 45 km WNW 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 35.0692, -118.3210. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Kern County
Los Angeles County, CA 97 km (60 mi) S earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 108 km (67 mi) SW earthquakes near Ventura 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. 1.6 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
  2. 3.3 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  3. 2.3 24km ENE of Arvin, CA
  4. 1.9 31km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
  5. 1.8 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  6. 1.7 7km SSW of Mojave, CA
  7. 1.5 8km N of Mojave, CA
  8. 1.7 7km S of Mojave, CA
  9. 1.6 20km ENE of Arvin, CA
  10. 2.3 24km ENE of Arvin, CA
  11. 2.2 20km NNE of Neenach, CA
  12. 1.6 5km S of Mojave, CA
  13. 1.6 22km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  14. 1.6 25km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  15. 2.5 18km NE of Lebec, 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.