QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Taft, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Taft in the 24 hours to 6:15 am PST (14:15 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 61 km (38 mi) SE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Taft

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) northeast of Taft, CA, at 6:39 am PDT on 12 August 2023 (13:39 UTC), 21 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17 km NE of Taft, CA

28 km (18 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA

6:39 am PDT, Aug 12, 2023 · · 21 km deep · released about 150 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Taft Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 55 kmVentura County 101 kmKings County 101 kmSanta Barbara County 103 kmSan Luis Obispo County 103 kmTulare County 119 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
6:39 am PDT on 12 August 2023 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) northeast of Taft, CA · earthquakes near Taft
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Kern County, 55 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1122 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Taft, 17 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: Ford City, South Taft, Taft Heights, Buttonwillow, Rosedale, Maricopa.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 99,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 70,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 39 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 6km SSE of Arvin, CA · 49 km E 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 35.2522, -119.3235. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Kern County
Ventura County, CA 101 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Ventura County
Kings County, CA 101 km (63 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
Santa Barbara County, CA 103 km (64 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 103 km (64 mi) W earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Tulare County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tulare County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 24 km SW of Lamont, CA
  2. 2.3 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  3. 1.9 24 km SW of Lamont, CA
  4. 1.6 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  5. 4.1 24 km SW of Lamont, CA
  6. 1.6 3 km ENE of Rosedale, CA
  7. 1.5 19 km WNW of Grapevine, CA
  8. 1.9 19 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  9. 2.1 14 km SSW of Arvin, CA
  10. 1.7 16 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  11. 1.7 12 km W of Grapevine, CA
  12. 1.6 6 km ESE of Bakersfield, CA
  13. 2.5 12 km SSW of Arvin, CA
  14. 2.0 11 km ENE of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  15. 1.6 17 km NW of Grapevine, 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.