quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Lucerne Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Lucerne Valley in the 24 hours to 1:41 am PST (09:41 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
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.7 quarry blast was recorded 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Lucerne Valley, CA, at 12:07 pm PST on 1 February 2017 (20:07 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 10km SSW of Lucerne Valley, CA
25 km (16 mi) SE of Apple Valley, CA · 133 km (83 mi) ENE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 12:07 pm PST on 1 February 2017 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Lucerne Valley, CA · earthquakes near Lucerne Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 95 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- North Frontal thrust system, 7 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 3564 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lucerne Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lucerne Valley, 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 12 km (7 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. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2016-01-06 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 25 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 37 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 14 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 27 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 26km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA · 47 km E 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 34.3632, -117.0250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 95 km (59 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Orange County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | W | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Riverside County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 2km NNE of Colton, CA
- 1.6 3km NNE of Colton, CA
- 2.3 6km WNW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.8 2km NNW of San Bernardino, CA
- 2.2 1km NNW of Lake Arrowhead, CA
- 1.8 6km E of Calimesa, CA
- 1.5 10km NNW of Banning, CA
- 1.6 15km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- 3.0 5km SE of Lytle Creek, CA
- 2.5 6km S of Redlands, CA
- 1.6 11km SSW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2.7 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.7 16km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- 2.4 2km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.9 6km S of Redlands, 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.