Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Twentynine Palms, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Twentynine Palms in the 24 hours to 8:33 am PST (16:33 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) southeast of Twentynine Palms, CA, at 2:29 am PST on 7 February 2019 (10:29 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 28km NW of Desert Center, CA
57 km (36 mi) ENE of Indio, CA · 145 km (90 mi) E of Moreno Valley, CA
- When
- 2:29 am PST on 7 February 2019 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) southeast of Twentynine Palms, CA · earthquakes near Twentynine Palms
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 37 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2835 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Twentynine Palms, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Twentynine Palms, CA. No account or email needed.
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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Twentynine Palms, 49 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 7.6 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 16 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 37 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 37 km WNW 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 33.8685, -115.6367. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 96 km (59 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| San Diego County, CA | 141 km (88 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
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 26km ENE of Thermal, CA
- 1.5 25km ENE of Thermal, CA
- 1.6 12km ENE of Indio, CA
- 1.7 6km NNE of North Shore, CA
- 3.5 6km NNE of North Shore, CA
- 1.8 14km ENE of Indio, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.0 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.3 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.2 13km NNE of Indio, CA
- 2.4 12km ENE of Thermal, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.5 30km SE of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 1.6 12km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.7 13km NE of Indio, 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.