Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Wofford Heights, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Wofford Heights in the 24 hours to 3:38 pm PST (23:38 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 3.3 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of Wofford Heights, CA, at 8:09 am PDT on 20 March 2024 (15:09 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 33 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14 km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
73 km (45 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 8:09 am PDT on 20 March 2024 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) east-southeast of Wofford Heights, CA · earthquakes near Wofford Heights
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 33 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- 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 828 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wofford Heights, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Wofford Heights, 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 49 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Wofford Heights, 14 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: Wofford Heights 14 km, intensity III · Bodfish 17 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.2 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.5× 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 13 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 35 km E of this epicentre
- 5.6 19km N of Tehachapi, CA · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 14km NNW of Tehachapi, CA · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 22km N of Tehachapi, CA · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
- 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 35.6458, -118.3202. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction 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.
- 1.6 4 km SE of Kernville, CA
- 2.0 9 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.1 22 km NE of Arvin, CA
- 1.6 11 km SSW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 11 km S of Bodfish, CA
- 2.2 21 km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.5 23 km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 4 km N of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.6 20 km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 6 km ESE of Wofford Heights, CA
- 1.6 7 km ENE of Lake Isabella, CA
- 2.1 24 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.9 4 km N of Lake Isabella, CA
- 1.9 10 km SE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 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.