Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 8:59 am PST (16:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 1:04 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 58 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Idyllwild
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south of Idyllwild, CA, at 4:41 am PDT on 20 April 2016 (11:41 UTC), 14 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 11km S of Idyllwild, CA
100 km (62 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 26 km (16 mi) ESE of Hemet, CA
- When
- 4:41 am PDT on 20 April 2016 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) south of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 17 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 69 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto 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 3858 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Idyllwild, 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 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Idyllwild, 11 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: Idyllwild 11 km, intensity II · Anza 12 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 18 km, intensity II · Hemet 25 km, intensity II · Aguanga 26 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 26 km, intensity II · Palm Springs 27 km, intensity II · Cathedral City 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 700 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 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 170 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 25 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 41 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 35 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 20 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 33.6460, -116.7373. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange 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.
- 3.8 21km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 5.2 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.8 21km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.0 10km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.1 21km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 2.9 22km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 1.7 21km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 2.2 6km ESE of Valle Vista, CA
- 2.3 8km NNW of Anza, CA
- 1.6 17km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.3 2km E of Nuevo, CA
- 1.7 20km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.9 5km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.8 3km ENE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.5 19km ESE of Anza, 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.