Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Kettleman City, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kettleman City in the 24 hours to 2:10 pm PST (22:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 13 km (8 mi) S, at 5:43 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kettleman City
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) south of Kettleman City, CA, at 3:55 pm PST on 24 February 2018 (23:55 UTC), 17 km deep.
USGS: 17km S of Kettleman City, CA
- When
- 3:55 pm PST on 24 February 2018 ()
- Where
- 17 km (11 mi) south of Kettleman City, CA · earthquakes near Kettleman City
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Kings County, 29 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 18 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 3182 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kettleman City, 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 Kettleman City, 17 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Avenal.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 28 km WSW 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 35.8547, -119.9928. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 66 km (41 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Tulare County, CA | 117 km (72 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Monterey County, CA | 126 km (79 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Kern County, CA | 127 km (79 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 6km SE of Huron, CA
- 1.9 20km NNW of Simmler, CA
- 1.6 20km NNW of Simmler, CA
- 2.0 9km NNW of Cholame, CA
- 1.6 9km E of Coalinga, CA
- 2.1 10km NNW of Cholame, CA
- 2.6 7km NE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.7 20km NNW of Simmler, CA
- 1.7 12km WSW of Huron, CA
- 1.6 10km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.1 9km SSE of Huron, CA
- 2.4 9km SSE of Huron, CA
- 1.9 5km SSW of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.9 5km SE of Huron, CA
- 1.5 2km N of Cholame, 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.