QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Taft, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Taft in the 24 hours to 6:36 am PST (14:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 61 km (38 mi) SE, at 3:38 am PDT on 12 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 798 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Taft

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) northeast of Taft, CA, at 5:45 pm PST on 23 January 2025 (01:45 UTC), 11 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km NE of Taft, CA

32 km (20 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA

5:45 pm PST, Jan 23, 2025 · · 11 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Taft Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 59 kmSan Luis Obispo County 100 kmKings County 100 kmSanta Barbara County 100 kmVentura County 101 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
5:45 pm PST on 23 January 2025 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) northeast of Taft, CA · earthquakes near Taft
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Kern County, 59 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 583 days ago

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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Taft, 15 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: Taft 15 km, intensity II · Buttonwillow 19 km, intensity II · Maricopa 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 5.2 on 2024-08-07 — about 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 9km NW of Grapevine, CA · 43 km SE 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 35.2493, -119.3642. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 59 km (36 mi) E earthquakes near Kern County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 100 km (62 mi) W earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Kings County, CA 100 km (62 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
Santa Barbara County, CA 100 km (62 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
Ventura County, CA 101 km (63 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ventura County
Tulare County, CA 121 km (75 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tulare County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 22 km E of Maricopa, CA
  2. 2.2 23 km E of Maricopa, CA
  3. 2.3 3 km W of Lamont, CA
  4. 1.8 25 km ENE of Maricopa, CA
  5. 1.9 20 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  6. 1.9 12 km SW of Taft, CA
  7. 2.3 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  8. 2.0 14 km E of Buttonwillow, CA
  9. 1.6 11 km E of Simmler, CA
  10. 2.1 13 km SE of Maricopa, CA
  11. 2.1 21 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  12. 2.2 20 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  13. 1.7 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  14. 1.6 17 km SE of Buttonwillow, CA
  15. 1.6 17 km NW of Grapevine, 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.