QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.2ml

Earthquake near Kernville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Kernville in the 24 hours to 6:27 am PST (14:27 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 1.2 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) north-northeast of Kernville, CA, at 11:47 am PST on 8 November 2026 (19:47 UTC), 8.8 km deep.

USGS: 28 km WSW of Olancha, CA

11:47 am PST, Nov 8, 2026 · · 8.8 km deep · released about 1.9 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tulare County 46 kmInyo County 90 kmKern County 98 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
11:47 am PST on 8 November 2026 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) north-northeast of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
Magnitude
M 1.2 (ml)
Depth
8.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tulare County, 46 km W
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 4 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. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 500× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.2 about 1.9 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 5.8 on 2020-06-24 — about 7,900,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 7km ESE of Coso Junction, CA · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 46 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 23km SSW of Little Lake, CA · 49 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 18km NE of Olancha, CA · 46 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 36.1530, -118.2778. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tulare County, CA 46 km (29 mi) W earthquakes near Tulare County
Inyo County, CA 90 km (56 mi) ENE earthquakes near Inyo County
Kern County, CA 98 km (61 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kern County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 6 km SSE of Coso Junction, CA
  2. 0.6 15 km SSW 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.

Revisions

USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.

What changedFromToWhen
review statusautomaticreviewed
longitude-118.28-118.28
latitude36.1636.15
depth8.058.82
magnitude1.091.2
location29 km WSW of Olancha, CA28 km WSW of Olancha, CA
longitude-118.28-118.28
latitude36.1536.16
depth8.848.05
magnitude1.361.09

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.