Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Kettleman City, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kettleman City in the 24 hours to 4:04 am PST (12:04 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) southeast of Kettleman City, CA, at 5:44 pm PDT on 7 October 2021 (00:44 UTC), 29 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km SE of Kettleman City, CA
92 km (57 mi) S of Fresno, CA · 46 km (29 mi) SSW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 5:44 pm PDT on 7 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) southeast of Kettleman City, CA · earthquakes near Kettleman City
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 29 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Kings County, 15 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 7 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 1790 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kettleman City, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Kettleman City, CA. No account or email needed.
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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Kettleman City, 9 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: Kettleman City 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 4.3 on 2019-12-17 — about 120 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 40 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 46 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1966 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 41 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 35.9543, -119.8860. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 15 km (9 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 92 km (57 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Tulare County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Kern County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kern County |
| San Benito County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Benito County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 7km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 5km W of Avenal, CA
- 2.4 7km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 2.3 7km WSW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.5 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 2.2 9km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 8km N of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 9km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.0 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.8 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 22km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.8 21km SSE of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 14km SSE of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 12km N of Huron, 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.