QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Big Bear City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear City in the 24 hours to 11:36 pm PST (07:36 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:11 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Bear City

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) north-northeast of Big Bear City, CA, at 3:56 am PDT on 18 June 2016 (10:56 UTC), 1.6 km deep.

USGS: 40km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA

58 km (36 mi) E of Apple Valley, CA · 106 km (66 mi) NE of Riverside, CA

3:56 am PDT, Jun 18, 2016 · · 1.6 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 46 kmRiverside County 112 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
3:56 am PDT on 18 June 2016 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) north-northeast of Big Bear City, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
1.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 46 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Camp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain fault, 4 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 3797 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear City, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 4.3 on 2016-02-20 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 48 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 29 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 41 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 26km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA · 31 km SSE 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 34.6138, -116.5838. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 46 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Riverside County, CA 112 km (70 mi) SSE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 151 km (94 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 32km ENE of Big Bear City, CA
  2. 1.7 24km W of Ludlow, CA
  3. 2.0 7km SE of Barstow, CA
  4. 1.5 37km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  5. 1.8 5km NW of Big Bear City, CA
  6. 1.7 10km E of Lucerne Valley, CA
  7. 1.6 4km N of Big Bear City, CA
  8. 1.5 16km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  9. 2.2 5km NW of Big Bear City, CA
  10. 1.5 9km N of Big Bear City, CA
  11. 2.0 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  12. 2.1 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  13. 1.5 17km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  14. 1.5 8km SE of Big Bear City, CA
  15. 1.6 10km 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

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