QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Taft, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Taft in the 24 hours to 7:06 am PST (15:06 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Taft, CA, at 10:19 am PST on 23 February 2026 (18:19 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 7 km NNE of Taft, CA

38 km (24 mi) WSW of Bakersfield, CA

10:19 am PST, Feb 23, 2026 · · 16 km deep · released about 420 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Taft Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kern County 64 kmSanta Barbara County 93 kmSan Luis Obispo County 96 kmVentura County 97 kmKings County 104 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
10:19 am PST on 23 February 2026 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Taft, CA · earthquakes near Taft
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kern County, 64 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 21 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 184 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Taft, 7 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 7 km, intensity II · Maricopa 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 420 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 36,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 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 4,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.5 The 1952 Kern County, California Earthquake · 47 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 The 1952 Bakersfield, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 9km NW of Grapevine, CA · 44 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 13km WNW of Grapevine, CA · 40 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 35.1995, -119.4167. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kern County, CA 64 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Kern County
Santa Barbara County, CA 93 km (58 mi) SW earthquakes near Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County, CA 96 km (60 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County
Ventura County, CA 97 km (60 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ventura County
Kings County, CA 104 km (64 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kings County
Tulare County, CA 128 km (80 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tulare County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 16 km SW of Lamont, CA
  2. 2.8 10 km SW of Lamont, CA
  3. 1.7 9 km E of Wasco, CA
  4. 1.5 8 km W of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  5. 1.6 16 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  6. 1.6 4 km ENE of Shafter, CA
  7. 1.6 7 km W of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  8. 1.6 18 km NNW of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  9. 1.8 25 km SW of Maricopa, CA
  10. 2.0 20 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  11. 2.0 8 km W of Pine Mountain Club, CA
  12. 1.5 14 km SSW of Maricopa, CA
  13. 1.5 20 km NW of Grapevine, CA
  14. 2.0 14 km SSW of Maricopa, CA
  15. 1.8 12 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.