QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Big Bear City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear City in the 24 hours to 4:33 am PST (12:33 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:11 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Bear City

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northeast of Big Bear City, CA, at 10:34 pm PDT on 3 April 2019 (05:34 UTC), 2.1 km deep.

USGS: 11km NE of Big Bear City, CA

73 km (45 mi) NE of Riverside, CA · 42 km (26 mi) NE of Yucaipa, CA

10:34 pm PDT, Apr 3, 2019 · · 2.1 km deep · released about 41 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 79 kmRiverside County 96 kmOrange County 119 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
10:34 pm PDT on 3 April 2019 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) northeast of Big Bear City, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear City
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
2.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 79 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Helendale-South Lockhart fault, 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 2779 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear City, 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: Big Bear City 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 41 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 4.5 on 2018-05-08 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 32 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 33 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 15 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 3km NE of Yucca Valley, California · 39 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 2km SSW of Joshua Tree, California · 46 km ESE 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 34.3288, -116.7548. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 79 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Riverside County, CA 96 km (60 mi) SE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 119 km (74 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.2 8km SSW of Joshua Tree, CA
  2. 1.6 11km NE of Running Springs, CA
  3. 1.9 5km NNW of Cabazon, CA
  4. 2.3 4km NW of Cabazon, CA
  5. 3.2 5km NW of Cabazon, CA
  6. 2.0 7km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
  7. 2.0 4km SE of Banning, CA
  8. 1.6 16km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  9. 1.8 10km N of Cabazon, CA
  10. 1.7 14km SSE of Big Bear Lake, CA
  11. 1.5 9km NNW of Banning, CA
  12. 2.5 8km NNW of Banning, CA
  13. 1.9 4km S of Morongo Valley, CA
  14. 2.2 4km NW of Beaumont, CA
  15. 2.4 8km NNE of Banning, 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.