Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Twentynine Palms, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Twentynine Palms in the 24 hours to 4:51 am PST (12:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 mi) SW, at 9:51 am PDT on 1 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Twentynine Palms
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) south of Twentynine Palms, CA, at 2:56 am PDT on 8 July 2016 (09:56 UTC), 3.1 km deep.
USGS: 22km S of Twentynine Palms, CA
30 km (19 mi) NE of Indio, CA · 126 km (78 mi) E of Riverside, CA
- When
- 2:56 am PDT on 8 July 2016 ()
- Where
- 22 km (13 mi) south of Twentynine Palms, CA · earthquakes near Twentynine Palms
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 24 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pinto Mountain fault (includes Morongo Valley fault), 19 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 3779 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Twentynine Palms, 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 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Twentynine Palms, 22 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 24 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 47 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 27 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 28 km W of this epicentre
- 5.8 3km NE of Yucca Valley, California · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 31 km ENE 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 33.9417, -116.0300. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 24 km (15 mi) | S | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | N | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Imperial County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 123 km (77 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 11km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.4 11km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.9 16km S of Joshua Tree, CA
- 2.4 16km S of Joshua Tree, CA
- 1.7 10km NNE of Indio, CA
- 1.9 25km NNW of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 1.7 13km S of Joshua Tree, CA
- 2.2 16km ENE of Coachella, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.9 2km NW of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 2.5 2km NW of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 1.6 15km NE of Thermal, CA
- 1.8 14km ENE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 1.6 14km ENE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 1.9 10km SSW of Joshua Tree, 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.