QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Lake Isabella, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lake Isabella in the 24 hours to 9:07 am PST (17:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 9 km (6 mi) NE, at 2:37 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 30 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lake Isabella

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east of Lake Isabella, CA, at 9:40 pm PDT on 28 August 2022 (04:40 UTC), 7.5 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14km E of Lake Isabella, CA

72 km (45 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

9:40 pm PDT, Aug 28, 2022 · · 7.5 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lake Isabella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 50 kmTulare County 77 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
9:40 pm PDT on 28 August 2022 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) east of Lake Isabella, CA · earthquakes near Lake Isabella
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
7.5 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Kern County, 50 km SW
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 1536 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake Isabella, 14 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: Weldon, Wofford Heights, Kernville, Bodfish, Alta Sierra.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 4.0 on 2021-08-27 — about 1,700 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. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 35 km ENE 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 35.6418, -118.3200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 50 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 77 km (48 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 131 km (82 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
  2. 2.6 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  3. 1.9 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  4. 2.3 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
  5. 3.6 13 km SE of Bodfish, CA
  6. 1.8 21km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  7. 1.8 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  8. 2.0 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
  9. 1.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  10. 1.5 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  11. 1.7 5km NW of Little Lake, CA
  12. 1.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  13. 2.0 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
  14. 2.0 21km SE of Bodfish, CA
  15. 1.7 12km NE of Kernville, 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.