August 22, 1952 Earthquake: Kern County, California, United States
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Kern County, California, United States on August 22, 1952 at 22:41:24 UTC, 16 km below the surface. It killed 2 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- August 22, 1952
- Time
- 22:41:24 UTC
- Place
- Kern County, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (ML)
- Focal depth
- 16 km (10 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.333° N, 118.917° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- $10 million
- Houses destroyed
- 90
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #542 lists $10 million damage.
Reference #1250 lists $10 million damage.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 9, 1971, San Fernando, California, United States
- January 17, 1994, Northridge, California, United States
- December 8, 1812, San Juan Capistrano, California, United States
- March 26, 1872, Owens Valley, California, United States
- June 29, 1925, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- July 21, 1952, Kern County, California, United States
- October 1, 1987, Whittier, California, United States
- January 9, 1857, San Luis Obispo, California, United States
- June 28, 1991, Arcadia, Glendale, Los Angeles, California, United States
- July 4, 2019, Ridgecrest, Nevada, California, United States
- August 31, 1930, Southern, California, United States
- December 21, 1812, Purisima, California, United States
- October 4, 1987, Whittier, Pasadena, California, United States
- March 25, 1806, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- May 31, 1854, Southern, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1952The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1952Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4002.