QuakeIndex

Fault · California

San Jacinto fault

244 kmlong (152 mi), as mapped
> 5 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
587quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

Updated , with the latest earthquake of M2.5 or more within 10 km of the trace: M 2.5, 11 km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA.

In plain English

The two sides grind past each other faster than 5 mm a year — more than half a metre (20 inches) every century.

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

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 7.5 in 1812 (Northwest of San Bernardino, California) — about 5,600,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 2.7 megatons of TNT.

USGS maps it as 7 sections: Anza section, Borrego Mountain section, Coyote Creek section, San Bernardino Valley section, San Jacinto Valley section, Superstition Hills section, Superstition Mountain section.

This week vs. its last ten years

4/100

quiet

3 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 4% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 5–9.

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

San Andreas faultElsinore faultGarlock faultNewport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon faultSan Clemente faultLenwood-Lockhart faultHelendale-South Lockhart faultSan Gabriel faultSierra Madre faultSan Diego Trough faultCalico-Hidalgo faultCatalina faultPalos Verdes faultPisgah-Bullion faultCamp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain faultAlgodones faultPinto Mountain fault (includes Morongo Valley fault)San Pedro Basin faultBrawley Seismic ZoneNorth Frontal thrust systemHarper faultJohnson Valley faultImperial faultPuente Hills blind thrust systemLavic Lake faultMesquite Lake faultSan Gorgonio Pass faultExtra faultBullion Mountains faultSanta Monica faultMecca Hills faultNorthridge blind thrustHomestead Valley faultSan Onofre faultSan Joaquin Hills thrustCleghorn faultHidden Spring faultRaymond faultCarlsbad faultIndio Hills Fault ZoneBurnt Mountain faultCrafton Hills faultVerdugo faultCoachella Fan Fault ZoneMt. General faultBanning faultEureka Peak faultCarslbad Ridge faultYuha Well Fault ZoneLong Canyon faultHollywood faultSkeleton Canyon faultHot Springs faultOld Woman Springs faultRed Hill-Etiwanda Avenue faultYuha Basin faultsBeaumont Plain fault M 7.5 · 1812 · Northwest of San Bernardino, California M 6.8 · 1890 · Northeastern San Diego County, California M 6.7 · 1899 · The 1899 San Jacinto, California Earthquake M 6.7 · 1918 · The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake M 6.6 · 1942 · The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake M 6.6 · 1968 · The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake
The San Jacinto fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 400 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots) and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). 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 7.5 Northwest of San Bernardino, California
    December 8, 1812 · epicentre 11 km from the trace
  2. M 6.8 Northeastern San Diego County, California
    February 9, 1890 · epicentre 2 km from the trace
  3. M 6.7 The 1899 San Jacinto, California Earthquake
    December 25, 1899 · epicentre 9 km from the trace
  4. M 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake
    April 21, 1918 · epicentre 6 km from the trace
  5. M 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake
    October 21, 1942 · epicentre 2 km from the trace
  6. M 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake
    April 9, 1968 · epicentre 2 km from the trace
  7. M 5.2 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
    June 10, 2016 · epicentre 1 km from the trace
  8. M 4.9 17km ESE of Anza, CA
    April 4, 2020 · epicentre on 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 11 km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
    2026-10-28 · 2 km from the trace
  2. M 2.8 3 km NNW of San Jacinto, CA
    2026-10-15 · 6 km from the trace
  3. M 2.7 4 km E of San Jacinto, CA
    2026-10-11 · 5 km from the trace
  4. M 2.7 2 km WNW of Fontana, CA
    2026-10-08 · 10 km from the trace
  5. M 3.1 20 km ESE of Anza, CA
    2026-10-01 · 0 km from the trace
  6. M 2.6 9 km WNW of Anza, CA
    2026-09-23 · 8 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.