Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Running Springs, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Running Springs in the 24 hours to 1:26 am PST (09:26 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 13 km (8 mi) WSW, at 3:40 pm PDT on 22 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Running Springs
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northeast of Running Springs, CA, at 1:07 am PDT on 26 April 2016 (08:07 UTC), 3.3 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 11km NE of Running Springs, CA
22 km (14 mi) NNE of Highland, CA · 130 km (81 mi) ENE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 1:07 am PDT on 26 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) northeast of Running Springs, CA · earthquakes near Running Springs
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Orange County, 96 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- North Frontal thrust system, 15 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3851 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Running Springs, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Running Springs, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Big Bear Lake 12 km, intensity III · Lake Arrowhead 15 km, intensity III · Big Bear City 17 km, intensity II · Lucerne Valley 19 km, intensity II · Highland 23 km, intensity II · Mentone 25 km, intensity II · Yucaipa 27 km, intensity II · Apple Valley 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2016-01-06 — about 180 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 21 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 50 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 4 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 21 km SE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 34.2798, -117.0322. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Riverside County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | W | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 13km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.6 13km N of Cabazon, CA
- 1.9 5km SE of Banning, CA
- 1.5 7km SE of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.8 10km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.5 10km NE of Nuevo, CA
- 2.1 3km NNW of Loma Linda, CA
- 2.2 3km N of Moreno Valley, CA
- 1.8 7km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 3.1 7km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.7 11km S of Big Bear City, CA
- 3.1 7km S of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 3km NE of Banning, CA
- 1.9 5km W of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.5 9km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.