QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Lucerne Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lucerne Valley in the 24 hours to 10:43 am PST (18:43 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 19 km (12 mi) SSE, at 1:40 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 18 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lucerne Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) west-northwest of Lucerne Valley, CA, at 5:37 pm PDT on 18 May 2016 (00:37 UTC), 1.3 km deep.

USGS: 10km WNW of Lucerne Valley, CA

15 km (9 mi) ESE of Apple Valley, CA · 133 km (83 mi) ENE of Los Angeles, CA

5:37 pm PDT, May 18, 2016 · · 1.3 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lucerne Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 92 kmOrange County 109 kmLos Angeles County 113 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
5:37 pm PDT on 18 May 2016 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) west-northwest of Lucerne Valley, CA · earthquakes near Lucerne Valley
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
1.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 92 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
North Frontal thrust system, 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 3830 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Lucerne Valley, 10 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: Lucerne Valley 10 km, intensity II · Apple Valley 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 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 5,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 37 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 25 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 Near San Bernardino, California · 30 km S 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 34.4673, -117.0707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 92 km (57 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Orange County, CA 109 km (68 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 113 km (70 mi) WSW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Riverside County, CA 128 km (80 mi) SE earthquakes near Riverside 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. 1.7 3km ENE of Colton, CA
  2. 1.5 8km SE of Big Bear City, CA
  3. 1.7 2km NNW of Loma Linda, CA
  4. 2.3 5km W of Devore, CA
  5. 1.8 14km S of Big Bear Lake, CA
  6. 1.6 10km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  7. 1.6 11km SSW of Lucerne Valley, CA
  8. 2.6 12km SSE of Big Bear City, CA
  9. 1.8 3km SSW of Big Bear City, CA
  10. 1.6 2km SW of San Bernardino, CA
  11. 1.7 11km SSW of Lucerne Valley, CA
  12. 1.5 2km NNE of Lake Arrowhead, CA
  13. 1.6 10km NNE of Running Springs, CA
  14. 2.2 10km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
  15. 1.5 5km NNE of Fontana, 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.