California Earthquake Update; M5.2 Earthquake Strikes South of Bakersfield

The strongest earthquake to strike southern California in 3 years just occurred, registering in as a magnitude 5.2. While only moderate in size, this earthquake surprisingly caused heavy shaking in some areas that would have been more typical of a larger magnitude 5.8 earthquake. So, why was this the case? The answer comes down to what the underlying ground is composed of, which this video will elaborate upon.

A special thanks to the EarthquakeSim YouTube channel for granting me permission to use clips of his footage!
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Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers

Various licenses used in sections of this video (not the entire video, this video as a whole does not completely fall under one of these licenses) and/or in this video's thumbnail image (and this list does not include every license used in this video and/or thumbnail image):

Sources/Citations:
[1] U.S. Geological Survey

0:00 California Earthquake
1:11 Aftershocks
2:08 Fault Type
2:58 Earthquake Intensity Comparison

[creightondaniels]

The cracks in the dirt are 30 ft long and a half inch wide in my

[areareare]

My favorite LA quote on Twitter about earthquakes. "My boss said he stirs his coffee with a 5.3"

[grayaj]

This is exactly the level of technical detail I like. Partly over my head, which forces me to reach for deeper understanding. I feel smarter after every one of these.

[kennyjones]

I am from the Bakersfield, CA, area. "Thank you" for not forgetting about us.

[ChairDancerReacts]

These vids are always a MUST CLICK NOW energy.

[hypercomms]

Resident in Bakersfield...."Darling.... did the Earth move for you?"

[maurasmith-mitsky]

I had no idea that dry sandy soil slowed seismic propagation but increases magnitude of shaking. Not sure I said that right. Great video, Bwana.

[ronaldjones]

Local media basically ignoring this quake, thanks for the update. Glad I was not driving 75mph (or more) on I-5 during the quake!!! ;-)

[k-mcgee]

you need multiple awards on how you explain geology to the census

[carolynmorris]

So nice to learn about this shaker, I live in Bakersfield 😅 but wasn't in town when it happened. Still felt a very mild shaking in Gaviota State Park and Campground though. Came home and nothing had fallen, all was okay. My cats were mad at me, but nothing unusual about that. Thanks for the update with all the science words, really appreciate it! 👍

[johnlord]

This southern Bakersfield region is part of the ancient (eventually) landlocked inner seaway of the Central Valley. The Central Valley contains 4 aquifers (northern Sacramento Valley, central-north Delta and Eastside Streams, central-south San Juaquin Basin, and southern-most Tulare Basin). Bakersfield falls into the Tulare Basin, which is known for having extreme aquifer depletion.

This ancient seaway, now sediment infilled, has the Sierras to the East, with the San Andreas and San Francisco land masses (and fault lines) to the West. These Eastern and Western regions create their own specific fault slips, but the Tulare Basin has the appearance of a fractured geological fault line - with no apparent underlying geological bedrock underneath, competing with and having associated fault line slips between the San Andreas/San Francisco and Sierra Nevada Mountain landmasses. This "earthquake" phenomena is actually the fracturing, collapsing, and settling of the Tulare Basin depleted aquifer.

These earthquakes are actually "aquifer quakes, " not geological tensioned fault line earth quake snaps, strikes, and slips. As farming has increased from the 1950s, tapping into the aquifer and draining its water level, (albeit they attempt replenishing from the Kern River, rainfall, and other means to replenishing surface water into the deep aquifer), the amount of net loss of aquifer water is having the settling of the Central Valley, and its "aquifer quakes" in this region.

How these "aquifer quakes" can affect the San Andreas/San Francisco fault lines remains uncertain. One would expect that the watery east side of the San Andreas would be more slippery with a higher aquifer water level ... while a deplted and drier aqufer would be less watery .. and less features of potential earthquake fault line slippage and liquifaction at depth. As there are no other San Andreas reactions to this events, and other events in the past, one can only logically assume that this zone of activity is not geologically related, but only aquifer related - thusly an "aquifer quake." IF - one did have an "aqufer quake" and the San Andreas did respond with a geological earthquake, then you could say there there is a more direct connection between the 2 regions. As such, (right now) there is no direct connection ... and seemingly no indirect connection as well ....

[roxieearly]

That new fault is right next to a drilling operation and their drill lines and pipes go out 5, 000 ft in either direction once they've reached the desired depth

[aredditor]

Same valley with an epic drawdown of it's aquifer and world famous images demonstrating the subsequent subsidence. There's a famous image of a power pole with signs on it showing how far the land has dropped down.

[Nocturnal]

I live in Rancho Cucamonga, and, typically we dont feel earthquakes, however, I can count the amount of mag 3+ earthquakes I've felt *this year alone* on both hands.

Efit: The January 5, 2024 Lytle Creek Earthquake (Mag 4.2, I think) was the first one since the *Ridgecrest* earthquakes in 2019 that I have felt.

[waynep]

The plumbers are here fixing a water leak in the galvanized 1953 installed pipes in hollywood CA. The shock waves rolled thru and the walls at the ceiling of the first floor moved 4 or 5 inches .

[lordsalvaton]

I’m wondering if it is possible that this earthquake may have been triggered because that end of the Central Valley is sinking due to the absence of Kern Lake and Tulare Lake

[genuinetuffguy]

Thanks for reporting on this one - much appreciated! 👍🏼

[sgtbilkotherd]

Sand grains are not porous. The spaces between the grains represent the alluvial soil porosity. An alluvial plain is not a rock unit.

[TheRotnflesh]

Thanks GH. I live in the Pass area, 80 miles southeast of Bakersfield; we felt it.

[iAncientOne]

I am in Tehachapi, maybe 20 mi from the epicene and I did not feel it it very strongly at all. In fact, the warning from the app startled me more than the quake itself.