QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Banning, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Banning in the 24 hours to 10:54 pm PST (06:54 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 15 km (10 mi) SSW, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Banning

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of Banning, CA, at 10:18 am PDT on 16 June 2016 (17:18 UTC), 4.8 km deep.

USGS: 3km NE of Banning, CA

12 km (7 mi) NE of Beaumont, CA · 144 km (89 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

10:18 am PDT, Jun 16, 2016 · · 4.8 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 82 kmOrange County 90 kmSan Diego County 103 kmSan Bernardino County 119 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:18 am PDT on 16 June 2016 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of Banning, CA · earthquakes near Banning
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
4.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 82 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Banning fault, 2 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 3801 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Banning, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Banning 3 km, intensity II · Beaumont 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 8,200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 48 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 23 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 29 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 50 km E 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 33.9442, -116.8567. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 82 km (51 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 90 km (56 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 103 km (64 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 15km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
  2. 1.6 11km SSW of Lucerne Valley, CA
  3. 2.6 12km SSE of Big Bear City, CA
  4. 2.0 5km ENE of Cabazon, CA
  5. 1.5 9km E of Yucaipa, CA
  6. 1.7 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  7. 1.8 5km ENE of Banning, CA
  8. 1.6 5km S of Idyllwild, CA
  9. 1.9 5km NE of Cabazon, CA
  10. 1.6 9km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  11. 1.8 3km SSW of Big Bear City, CA
  12. 1.6 2km SW of San Bernardino, CA
  13. 1.7 11km SSW of Lucerne Valley, CA
  14. 1.7 5km WNW of Desert Hot Springs, CA
  15. 1.5 2km NNE of Lake Arrowhead, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.