QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Delano, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Delano in the 24 hours to 9:35 am PST (17:35 UTC). The last one was M 4.6, 74 km (46 mi) S, at 9:10 pm PDT on 6 August 2024, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 253 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Delano

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) southeast of Delano, CA, at 4:50 am PST on 29 November 2024 (12:50 UTC), 21 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SE of Delano, CA

5 km (3 mi) SE of Delano, CA · 46 km (28 mi) NNW of Bakersfield, CA

4:50 am PST, Nov 29, 2024 · · 21 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 62 kmKings County 65 kmTulare County 67 kmSan Luis Obispo County 118 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
4:50 am PST on 29 November 2024 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) southeast of Delano, CA · earthquakes near Delano
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 62 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 713 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Delano, 4 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: McFarland, Richgrove, Earlimart, Wasco, Teviston, Pixley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 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 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 4.9 on 2016-02-24 — about 23,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 25 km SSW of Posey, California · 41 km ESE 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 35.7373, -119.2188. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 62 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Kern County
Kings County, CA 65 km (41 mi) NW earthquakes near Kings County
Tulare County, CA 67 km (42 mi) NE earthquakes near Tulare County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 118 km (73 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Fresno County, CA 120 km (75 mi) NNW earthquakes near Fresno County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 8 km NE of Porterville, CA
  2. 1.8 8 km W of McFarland, CA
  3. 1.6 9 km SE of Porterville, CA
  4. 1.7 20 km E of McFarland, CA
  5. 1.6 6 km SE of Poplar-Cotton Center, CA
  6. 1.9 10 km E of Porterville, CA
  7. 1.5 9 km WSW of Shafter, CA
  8. 2.1 18 km W of Alpaugh, CA
  9. 2.0 23 km SSE of Porterville, CA
  10. 1.5 23 km SSE of Porterville, CA
  11. 2.2 24 km SSE of Porterville, CA
  12. 1.7 9 km E of Wasco, CA
  13. 1.7 10 km E of Porterville, CA
  14. 1.6 4 km ENE of Shafter, CA
  15. 1.7 15 km E of Oildale, 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.