Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.6ml
Earthquake near Lamont, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lamont in the 24 hours to 6:18 am PST (14:18 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 10 km (6 mi) SW, at 2:35 am PDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Lamont
This page: a magnitude 4.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Lamont, CA, at 9:10 pm PDT on 6 August 2024 (04:10 UTC), 12 km deep. 253 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 25 km SW of Lamont, CA
28 km (17 mi) SSW of Bakersfield, CA · 137 km (85 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 9:10 pm PDT on 6 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Lamont, CA · earthquakes near Lamont
- Magnitude
- M 4.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 253 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Kern County, 44 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wheeler Ridge fault, 10 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 613 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lamont, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lamont, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 148 km (92 mi) from the epicentre. In Lamont, 25 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: Lamont 25 km, intensity III · Maricopa 27 km, intensity III · Arvin 28 km, intensity III · Rosedale 31 km, intensity III · Bakersfield 31 km, intensity III · Taft 31 km, intensity III · Frazier Park 35 km, intensity III · Oildale 36 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,400× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.6 about 120 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 250× 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 5.2 on 2024-08-07 — about 8.5 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 20 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Tejon Pass, California · 30 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 36 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 34 km NE 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 35.1088, -119.1150. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Ventura County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Kings County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 128 km (80 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 23 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.9 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 3.0 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 3.4 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.4 25 km E of Maricopa, CA
- 2.4 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.7 24 km ENE of Maricopa, CA
- 2.2 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.3 23 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.5 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.4 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.2 21 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.7 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.7 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.0 25 km E of Maricopa, 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.