Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Kernville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kernville in the 24 hours to 1:14 pm PST (21:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 11 km (7 mi) NE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kernville
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) northwest of Kernville, CA, at 5:26 am PST on 5 March 2025 (13:26 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 29 km NW of Kernville, CA
78 km (48 mi) NNE of Bakersfield, CA · 39 km (24 mi) ESE of Porterville, CA
- When
- 5:26 am PST on 5 March 2025 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) northwest of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Tulare County, 33 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 14 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 617 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kernville, 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 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 Kernville, 29 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Alta Sierra.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.0 5 km S of Springville, California · 23 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 25 km SSW of Posey, California · 44 km SSW 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 35.9630, -118.6140. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County, CA | 33 km (21 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | S | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Kings County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Inyo County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 129 km (80 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Fresno County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 42 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.1 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.0 23 km SSE of Porterville, CA
- 1.5 23 km SSE of Porterville, CA
- 2.2 24 km SSE of Porterville, CA
- 1.5 14 km NW of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 10 km E of Porterville, CA
- 1.8 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.7 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.8 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.9 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.1 40 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 2.1 24 km WSW of Olancha, CA
- 3.0 24 km WSW of Olancha, 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.