QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Tehachapi, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Tehachapi in the 24 hours to 7:19 am PST (15:19 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Tehachapi, CA, at 11:32 pm PDT on 26 April 2024 (06:32 UTC), 6.3 km deep.

USGS: 33 km SE of Bodfish, CA

73 km (46 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA

11:32 pm PDT, Apr 26, 2024 · · 6.3 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 46 kmTulare County 106 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
11:32 pm PDT on 26 April 2024 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) northeast of Tehachapi, CA · earthquakes near Tehachapi
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 46 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 16 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 928 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Tehachapi, 35 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 4.3 on 2024-04-18 — about 3,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 43 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 25 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 24 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 29 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 22 km WSW 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 35.3885, -118.2287. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 46 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Kern County
Tulare County, CA 106 km (66 mi) NNW earthquakes near Tulare County
Ventura County, CA 141 km (88 mi) SW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 21 km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  2. 1.7 8 km S of Mojave, CA
  3. 1.5 7 km SSW of Mojave, CA
  4. 1.6 10 km W of Johannesburg, CA
  5. 1.7 6 km SW of Tehachapi, CA
  6. 1.7 7 km SSW of Mojave, CA
  7. 1.9 24 km N of California City, CA
  8. 1.7 24 km N of California City, CA
  9. 2.0 7 km NNW of Mojave, CA
  10. 1.5 23 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  11. 2.0 14 km SE of Bodfish, CA
  12. 1.8 9 km ESE of Bodfish, CA
  13. 1.6 16 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
  14. 1.7 8 km SSW of Mojave, CA
  15. 1.5 8 km SSW of Mojave, 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.