QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Johnson Valley fault

51 kmlong (32 mi), as mapped
0.2–1 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
7quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move 0.2 to 1 mm a year — 2 to 10 cm every century.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 4.3 in 2016 (36km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA) — about 92 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 44 tons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 2 sections: Northern Johnson Valley section, Southern Johnson Valley section.

This week vs. its last ten years

Too quiet to rank: fewer than half a year's worth of weeks with any M1.5+ quake within 5 km, in ten years. A single quake here would read as "unusual", so we do not score it.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultElsinore faultGarlock faultSan Jacinto faultNewport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon faultLenwood-Lockhart faultHelendale-South Lockhart faultSan Gabriel faultSierra Madre faultCalico-Hidalgo faultPisgah-Bullion faultCamp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain faultPinto Mountain fault (includes Morongo Valley fault)North Frontal thrust systemHarper faultBlackwater faultLavic Lake faultMesquite Lake faultSan Gorgonio Pass faultBullion Mountains faultManix faultHomestead Valley faultCleghorn faultIndio Hills Fault ZoneBurnt Mountain faultCrafton Hills faultCoachella Fan Fault ZoneMt. General faultBanning faultEureka Peak faultRed Pass faultLong Canyon faultOld Woman Springs faultBeaumont Plain fault
The Johnson Valley fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 7 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), . Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 4.3 36km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
    February 20, 2016 · epicentre 10 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.5 19 km NE of Big Bear City, CA
    2025-01-18 · 8 km from the trace
  2. M 2.7 37 km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
    2024-08-19 · 10 km from the trace
  3. M 2.6 28km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA
    2023-05-26 · 6 km from the trace
  4. M 3.0 35km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
    2020-07-06 · 9 km from the trace
  5. M 3.0 37 km ENE of Lucerne Valley, California
    2017-05-13 · 10 km from the trace
  6. M 3.4 32km ENE of Big Bear City, CA
    2016-08-30 · 5 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.