Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Buttonwillow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Buttonwillow in the 24 hours to 7:17 am PST (15:17 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 82 km (51 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 Buttonwillow
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Buttonwillow, CA, at 3:03 am PST on 5 March 2025 (11:03 UTC), 21 km deep. 40 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18 km SE of Buttonwillow, CA
28 km (17 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 3:03 am PST on 5 March 2025 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Buttonwillow, CA · earthquakes near Buttonwillow
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 21 km below the surface
- Felt
- 40 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Kern County, 55 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 545 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Buttonwillow, 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Buttonwillow, 18 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: Buttonwillow 18 km, intensity II · Taft 19 km, intensity II · Rosedale 20 km, intensity II · Shafter 25 km, intensity II · Maricopa 26 km, intensity II · Bakersfield 30 km, intensity II · Oildale 32 km, intensity II · Wasco 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 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 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.7× 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 790 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Bakersfield, California · 48 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 42 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.7 11km N of Lamont, CA · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 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 35.2843, -119.3325. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | E | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Kings County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Ventura County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | S | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Tulare County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 24 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.8 22 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 25 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 18 km SE of Buttonwillow, CA
- 1.6 9 km ENE of Oildale, CA
- 1.8 19 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 19 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.5 19 km NW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 19 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.8 19 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 20 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.9 19 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 2.4 14 km NNW of Grapevine, CA
- 1.9 22 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.