The 1952 Kern County earthquake occurred on July 21, 1952, in Kern County

Kern County, California

Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, with a magnitude of 7.5M_w

Moment magnitude scale

The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...

. It was the largest earthquake to strike Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 since the Fort Tejon earthquake

Fort Tejon earthquake

The Fort Tejon earthquake occurred at about 8:20 AM on January 9, 1857. It ruptured the San Andreas Fault for a length of about 225 miles , between Parkfield and Wrightwood. The average slip along the fault was 4.5 meters , and a maximum offset of 9 meters was recorded in the Carrizo Plain area...

 of 1857 and the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake

1872 Lone Pine earthquake

The Great Lone Pine earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes to hit California in recorded history. The quake struck on March 26, 1872 and its epicenter was near Lone Pine, California in Owens Valley...

, causing immense and widespread damage. The main shock killed 12 people, injured 18 and caused over $50 million in property damage. Damage occurred as far away as Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, where six people were killed. It was followed by several aftershocks, at least 20 of which were magnitude 5.0 or greater, including a magnitude 5.8 on August 22 that killed two more people. The quake occurred on the White Wolf Fault

White Wolf Fault

The White Wolf Fault is a fault in southern California, located north of the intersection of the San Andreas Fault and the Garlock Fault, and north of the Tehachapi Mountains. It is classed as a reverse fault with a left lateral component...

 and was the strongest quake in California since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

1906 San Francisco earthquake

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...

.

External links

• Historic Earthquakes: Kern County, California at the United States Geological Survey
• Kern County Earthquake at the Southern California Earthquake Data Center