Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mw
Earthquake near Kettleman City, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kettleman City in the 24 hours to 11:30 am PST (19:30 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 4.0 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Kettleman City, CA, at 4:10 pm PST on 5 December 2022 (00:10 UTC), 9.5 km deep. 32 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km SSW of Kettleman City, CA
96 km (60 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 54 km (34 mi) SW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 4:10 pm PST on 5 December 2022 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Kettleman City, CA · earthquakes near Kettleman City
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mw)
- Depth
- 9.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 32 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Kings County, 23 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Great Valley thrust fault system, 11 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 1370 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 95 km (59 mi) from the epicentre. In Kettleman City, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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 IV · Avenal 13 km, intensity III · Huron 31 km, intensity III · Coalinga 39 km, intensity III · Corcoran 45 km, intensity III · Lemoore 46 km, intensity III · Lost Hills 46 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 12,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 540× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 380× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 14 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 30× more
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 2.9 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 43 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.5 1922 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.4 1901 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 44 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 2004 Parkfield, California Earthquake · 34 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 26 km NNW 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 35.9357, -120.0127. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County, CA | 23 km (15 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| San Luis Obispo County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Luis Obispo County |
| Fresno County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Tulare County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Monterey County, CA | 122 km (76 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| San Benito County, CA | 122 km (76 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
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 6km ESE of Kettleman City, CA
- 2.3 20km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 20km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.7 17km S of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.6 14km NW of Parkfield, CA
- 1.7 10km ESE of Shandon, CA
- 1.7 10km ESE of Shandon, CA
- 2.3 12km E of Coalinga, CA
- 1.8 10km E of Coalinga, CA
- 2.2 12km SW of Huron, CA
- 2.2 11km E of Coalinga, CA
- 2.2 10km ESE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.7 10km E of Coalinga, CA
- 2.7 10km E of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 11km E of Coalinga, 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.