Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake in Kern County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake at a depth of about 11.7 km roughly 23 km to the southwest of Lamont in Kern County, California, slightly before 9.10 pm local time on Tuesday 6 August 2024 (slightly before 4.10 am on Wednesday 7 August, GMT). There are no reports of any damage or injuries relating to this quake, but people have reported feeling it across much of southern California.

The approximate location of the 6 August 2024 County Earthquake. USGS.

California is extremely prone to Earthquakes due to the presence of the San Andreas Fault, a tectonic plate margin that effectively bisects the state. The west of California, including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, is located on the Pacific Plate, and is moving to the northwest. The east of California, including Fresno and Bakersfield is on the North American Plate, and is moving to the southeast. The plates do not move smoothly past one-another, but constantly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up. This has led to a network of smaller faults that criss-cross the state, so that Earthquakes can effectively occur anywhere.

Tectonic boundaries and faults in California and the surrounding area. USGS.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events and the underlying structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

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Second major Earthquake hits Kern County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake at a depth of about 8.0 km, roughly 17 km to the northeast of Ridgeway, in Kern County, California, slightly after 3.50 am local time (slightly after 10.50 am GMT) on Saturday 6 July 2019. There are no reports of any significant damage or injuries relating to this quake, but people have reported feeling it across much of California, and in parts of northern Mexico, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming Washington, and Montana. This is the second major Earthquake to have hit the area this week, following a Magnitude 6.4 event on Thursday 4 July as well as a number of smaller quakes, and it is likely that more such tremors could follow.

The approximate location of the 6 July 2019 Kern County Earthquake. USGS.

California is extremely prone to Earthquakes due to the presence of the San Andreas Fault, a tectonic plate margin that effectively bisects the state. The west of California, including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, is located on the Pacific Plate, and is moving to the northwest. The east of California, including Fresno and Bakersfield is on the North American Plate, and is moving to the southeast. The plates do not move smoothly past one-another, but constantly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up. This has led to a network of smaller faults that criss-cross the state, so that Earthquakes can effectively occur anywhere.

Tectonic boundaries and faults in California and the surrounding area. USGS.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events and the underlying structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

See also...

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Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake in Kern County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake at a depth of about 10.7 km, roughly 12 km to the southwest of Searles Valley, in Kern County, California, slightly after 10.30 am local time (slightly after 5.30 pm GMT) on Thursday 4 July 2019. There are no reports of any significant damage or injuries relating to this quake, but people have reported feeling it across much of California, and in parts of northern Mexico, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming Washington, and Montana. The main event was followed by a series of aftershocks.

Damage to a road near Ridgeway, in Kern County, California, following an Earthquake on 4 July 2019. CNN.

California is extremely prone to Earthquakes due to the presence of the San Andreas Fault, a tectonic plate margin that effectively bisects the state. The west of California, including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, is located on the Pacific Plate, and is moving to the northwest. The east of California, including Fresno and Bakersfield is on the North American Plate, and is moving to the southeast. The plates do not move smoothly past one-another, but constantly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up. This has led to a network of smaller faults that criss-cross the state, so that Earthquakes can effectively occur anywhere.

 The approximate location of the 4 July 2019 Kern County Earthquake. USGS.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events and the underlying structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

Tectonic boundaries and faults in California and the surrounding area. USGS.

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Magnitude 3.1 Earthquake in Kern County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 3.1 Earthquake at a depth of 7.3 km in southeastern Kern County, California, slightly after 11.05 pm local time on Friday 27 June 2014 (slightly after 6.05 am on Saturday 28 June, GMT). There are no reports of any damage or injuries relating to this quake, but it was felt across much of southern Kern County.

The approximate location of the 27 June 2014 Kern County Earthquake. Google Maps.

California is extremely prone to Earthquakes due to the presence of the San Andreas Fault, a tectonic plate margin that effectively bisects the state. The west of California, including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, is located on the Pacific Plate, and is moving to the northwest. The east of California, including Fresno and Bakersfield is on the North American Plate, and is moving to the southeast. The plates do not move smoothly past one-another, but constantly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up. This has led to a network of smaller faults that criss-cross the state, so that Earthquakes can effectively occur anywhere.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events and the underlying structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

See also...

 Magnitude 3.6 Earthquake in Riverside County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 3.6 Earthquake at a depth of 19.6 km  in the San Jacinto Mountains in...

 Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake in San Bernardino County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake at a depth of 1.9 km, in the western Mojave Desert...

 Magnitude 3.0 Earthquake in Orange County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recoded a Magnitude 3.0 Earthquake at a depth of 6.7 km in Orange County, California...

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An enigmatic Walrus from the Miocene of California.

Walruses (Odobenidae) are large Seals (Pinnipedia) related to Sea Lions and Fur Seals (Otariidae). The group first appears in the fossil record about 16 million years ago towards the end of the Early Miocene. The modern Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is one of the largest living Seals, and is a specialized shellfish eater, with well-developed tusks used to root out Clams, a thick moustache used to probe muddy sediments and a highly developed feeding system capable of sucking large Clams from their shells. Fossil Walruses, of which numerous species have been documented from the North Pacific region, apparently pursued a more diverse range of diets, with suction-feeding, specialist Fish eaters and generalist species all recorded.

Pelagiarctos thomasi is a large fossil Walrus described from partial remains from the Middle Miocene Sharktooth Hill Bonebed of Kern County, California in 1988. This has been identified as a large predatory Walrus, possibly a top-predator specializing in hunting other Marine Mammals, though it was initially described only from a partial lower jaw with most of the teeth missing.

In a paper published in the journal PLoS One on 16 January 2013, Robert Boessenecker of the Department of Geology at the University of Otago and the University of California Museum of Paleontology and Morgan Churchill of the Department of Geology and Geophysics and the Program in Ecology at the University of Wyoming, describe a second specimen of Pelagiarctos from the Middle Miocene ‘Topanga’ Formation of Orange County, California. The new specimen differs enough from the original that it is not placed within the species Pelagiarctos thomasi, but since modern Walruses are known to be somewhat morphologically variable, Boessenecker & Churchill refine from erecting a new species to describe it, instead referring to it as Pelagiarctos sp.

Mandibles of Pelagiarctos. Comparison of (A) Pelagiarctos sp. in dorsal aspect, and Pelagiarctos thomasi in (B) dorsal and (C) lateral aspect. Boessenecker & Churchill (2013).

The new specimen comprises the partial lower jaw of an animal similar to the first specimen, but this time with most of the teeth intact. Based upon comparison of these teeth to those of other large marine and predatory Mammals, Boessenecker & Churchill reject the idea that Pelagiarctos was a specialized predator hunting other large Marine Mammals. It was certainly a large animal, probably comparable to a Sea Lion in size, but its teeth were not exceptionally large and do not appear specialized for a subduing large prey, as its jaw structure, with robust strongly fused mandibles, while clearly strong, does not appear well suited to subduing large struggling prey or cracking the bones such animals, tasks which require a degree of flexibility apparently absent in the jaw of Pelagiarctos. Instead Boessenecker & Churchill suggest that Pelagiarctos was probably a more generalist feeder, which would have consumed the meat of large prey should this be available, but which principally ate fish or even foraged for shellfish.

See also…

 A mass stranding of Rorqual Whales (Balaenopteridae) from the Miocene of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

 A fossil Porpoise from the early Pliocene of northern Hokkaido Island, Japan.

 A new species of Desmostylian Mammal from the Late Miocene of Orange County, California.

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Magnitude 2.6 Earthquake in Kern County, California.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 2.6 Earthquake at a depth of 10.3 km near Lake Isabella in Kern County, California, approximately 59 km northeast of Bakersfield, slightly after 11.20 am local time (slightly after 6.20 pm GMT) on Saturday 22 September 2013. A quake this size is unlikely to cause any damage or casualties, though this one was felt locally.

The approximate location of the 22 September Lake Isabella Earthquake. Google Maps.

California is extremely prone to Earthquakes due to the presence of the San Andreas Fault, a tectonic plate margin that effectively bisects the state. The west of California, including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, is located on the Pacific Plate, and is moving to the northwest. The east of California, including Fresno and Bakersfield is on the North American Plate, and is moving to the southeast. The plates do not move smoothly past one-another, but constantly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up. This has led to a network of smaller faults that criss-cross the state, so that Earthquakes can effectively occur anywhere.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events and the underlying structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

See also Magnitude 2.5 Earthquake in San Bernardino County, California, Magnitude 3.6 Earthquake in Inyo County, northern California, Magnitude 3.2 Earthquake in southern California, Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake hits Kern County, California and Magnitude 3.4 Earthquake in northern California.

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A fossil Grasshopper from the McKittrick Asphalt Deposits of Kern County, California.

The Rancho La Brea Tar Pits of Los Angeles County are renowned worldwide for their well preserved late-Pleistocene fossils, notably large, charismatic vertebrates. However California also has a number of other tar pits producing fossils of similar age, producing a diverse assemblage of vertebrate, invertebrate and plant fossils. They are essentially oil deposits identical to those worked by oil drills in other parts of the world, but exposed at the surface. When oil deposits are exposed in this way the lighter fractions (crude oil is made up of a mixture of different oils, known as 'fractions' due to the process used to separate them, fractional distillation) such as petroleum evaporate off, leaving the heavier fractions, known as tar, or asphalt, behind. These form oily pools in which animals can become trapped.

In a paper published in the Entomological News in May 2013, Sam Heads of the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Yinan Wang of Arlington Virginia describe a fossil Grasshopper from the McKittrick Asphalt Deposits of Kern County, California.

The specimen belongs to the species Melanoplus differentialis, the Differentiated Grasshopper, which is still extant and widely distributed across North America, but which has not previously been described from the fossil record. It is a 25.3 mm Grasshopper preserved in a chunk of asphalt containing other plant and insect remains. The species owes much of its current widespread distribution to a preference for farmland, but is naturally found living on tall herbaceous vegetation growing in wetland meadows and similar environments, which is similar to the environment in which the tar pit deposits are believed to have formed, so the discovery of the species in these deposits in unsurprising.

Specimen of Melanoplus differentialis, the Differentiated Grasshopper from the McKittrick Asphalt Deposits of Kern County, California. Scale bar is 5 mm. Heads & Wang (2013).

Heads and Wang note that Grasshoppers are not uncommon in Californian tar pit deposits, but that like other insect specimens they are easily damaged and seldom identifiable to species level. They suggest that many insect specimens may be lost due to mechanical preparation of samples, and suggest that more specimens could be recovered intact by dissolving the matrix in an organic solvent.

See also Insect borings in bones from the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits, Two new species of Mole Cricket from Columbia, A fossil Cricket in Miocene amber, Four new species of Katydid from Singapore and Malaysia and New species of Bush Cricket from the Eastern Carpathian Mountains.

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