QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Wofford Heights, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Wofford Heights in the 24 hours to 1:27 pm PST (21:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 17 km (10 mi) NNE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wofford Heights

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of Wofford Heights, CA, at 3:38 pm PST on 2 February 2024 (23:38 UTC), 8.1 km deep.

USGS: 14 km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA

73 km (45 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA

3:38 pm PST, Feb 2, 2024 · · 8.1 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

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
3:38 pm PST on 2 February 2024 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of Wofford Heights, CA · earthquakes near Wofford Heights
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
8.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 50 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Kern Canyon fault, 12 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 1014 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Wofford Heights, 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.

Likely felt in: Wofford Heights 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 620 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 E 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 35.6460, -118.3218. 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 (81 mi) NE earthquakes near Inyo 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.

  1. 1.7 25 km N of Tehachapi, CA
  2. 1.9 14 km SE of Bodfish, CA
  3. 2.0 33 km SE of Bodfish, CA
  4. 1.7 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  5. 1.8 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  6. 1.9 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
  7. 1.6 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  8. 3.2 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  9. 1.5 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  10. 2.2 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  11. 1.9 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  12. 2.5 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
  13. 2.1 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
  14. 1.7 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
  15. 1.9 11 km S 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.