Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Bakersfield, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bakersfield in the 24 hours to 5:14 am PST (13:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 21 km (13 mi) S, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Bakersfield
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) south-southeast of Bakersfield, CA, at 4:12 am PDT on 5 May 2023 (11:12 UTC), 14 km deep. 24 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km NNE of Grapevine, CA
35 km (22 mi) SSE of Bakersfield, CA · 124 km (77 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:12 am PDT on 5 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) south-southeast of Bakersfield, CA · earthquakes near Bakersfield
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 24 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 36 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wheeler Ridge fault, 8 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 1216 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bakersfield, CA
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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 55 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Bakersfield, 37 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.
Likely felt in: Arvin 18 km, intensity III · Lamont 23 km, intensity II · Frazier Park 26 km, intensity II · Bakersfield 37 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 42 km, intensity II · Oildale 42 km, intensity II · Rosedale 43 km, intensity II · Maricopa 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 95,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.7× 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
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:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 14 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 17 km S of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 29 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 18 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 33 km N 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 35.0560, -118.8973. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 36 km (22 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 80 km (50 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 112 km (70 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kings County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 7 km SSE of Neenach, CA
- 1.6 20 km SW of Lamont, CA
- 1.7 13 km SE of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 25 km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 20 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 3.0 9 km WSW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.1 24 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 26 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 2 km NW of Frazier Park, CA
- 3.4 19 km SW of Lamont, CA
- 1.5 11 km ENE of Pine Mountain Club, CA
- 3.4 11 km WSW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 8 km ENE of Lebec, CA
- 2.5 17 km NE of Taft, CA
- 3.3 23 km 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
- 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.