Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Tehachapi, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tehachapi in the 24 hours to 7:47 am PST (15:47 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 61 km (38 mi) ENE, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tehachapi
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northwest of Tehachapi, CA, at 11:28 pm PST on 17 January 2023 (07:28 UTC), 3.8 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 24km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
43 km (27 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA · 146 km (91 mi) N of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 11:28 pm PST on 17 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) north-northwest of Tehachapi, CA · earthquakes near Tehachapi
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Kern County, 15 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Breckenridge fault, 5 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 1322 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tehachapi, 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Tehachapi, 24 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: Tehachapi 24 km, intensity II · Arvin 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 460 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 33,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 23,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 460 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 65 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 21 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 30 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 9 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 10 km SE 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 35.3228, -118.5685. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 15 km (9 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura 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
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.4 13km NNE of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 19km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 21km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 5km E of Wofford Heights, CA
- 2.5 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 5km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.8 25km SW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.3 5km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 9km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.4 12km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.4 13km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 15km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 3.1 14km E of Arvin, CA
- 2.2 13km SE of Bodfish, 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.