Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5ml
Earthquake near Bodfish, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bodfish in the 24 hours to 5:59 am PST (13:59 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:38 pm PDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bodfish
This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Bodfish, CA, at 6:26 pm PST on 29 December 2023 (02:26 UTC), 5.2 km deep. 33 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
36 km (22 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 6:26 pm PST on 29 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) south-southwest of Bodfish, CA · earthquakes near Bodfish
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 33 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 10 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Breckenridge 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 985 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bodfish, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bodfish, CA. No account or email needed.
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 64 km (40 mi) from the epicentre. In Bodfish, 25 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: Bodfish 25 km, intensity III · Arvin 27 km, intensity II · Lamont 29 km, intensity II · Oildale 34 km, intensity II · Bakersfield 34 km, intensity II · Tehachapi 35 km, intensity II · Wofford Heights 38 km, intensity II · Rosedale 45 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 59,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.9 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 6× 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 5.2 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 18 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 23 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 22 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.5 13km ENE of Grapevine, CA · 48 km SSW 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 35.4003, -118.6452. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 10 km (6 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | N | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Kings County, CA | 129 km (80 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kings County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 4.3 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 13 km WNW of Mojave, CA
- 1.5 13 km W of Mojave, CA
- 1.6 25 km NE of Lamont, CA
- 1.6 14 km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.7 24 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.5 16 km ESE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.6 20 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.3 23 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 25 km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 14 km ENE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.6 14 km ENE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 3.3 14 km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 2.1 14 km ESE of Wofford Heights, 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.