Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mw
Earthquake near Tehachapi, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tehachapi in the 24 hours to 7:17 am PST (15:17 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 3.8 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Tehachapi, CA, at 5:06 pm PST on 4 February 2024 (01:06 UTC), 7.2 km deep. 87 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 32 km SE of Bodfish, CA
74 km (46 mi) E of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 5:06 pm PST on 4 February 2024 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Tehachapi, CA · earthquakes near Tehachapi
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mw)
- Depth
- 7.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 87 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 46 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Southern Sierra Nevada fault, 15 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 373 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 81 km (50 mi) from the epicentre. In Tehachapi, 35 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 32 km, intensity III · Tehachapi 35 km, intensity III · California City 37 km, intensity III · Mojave 38 km, intensity II · Wofford Heights 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 24,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 15× 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 2.1 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 43 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 12km NW of California City, California · 25 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 24 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 29 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 23 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 35.3937, -118.2257. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Ventura County, CA | 142 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
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 22 km NNW of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.7 25 km N of Tehachapi, CA
- 1.6 7 km SSW of Mojave, CA
- 1.9 14 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.0 33 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.8 25 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 3.2 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 2.5 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 11 km SSW 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.