QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near San Bernardino, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in San Bernardino in the 24 hours to 10:21 pm PST (06:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (6 mi) SSE, at 10:40 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near San Bernardino

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) west-northwest of San Bernardino, CA, at 10:22 pm PDT on 21 July 2016 (05:22 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 2km SW of San Bernardino, CA

in San Bernardino, CA

10:22 pm PDT, Jul 21, 2016 · · 12 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Bernardino Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 65 kmLos Angeles County 88 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
10:22 pm PDT on 21 July 2016 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) west-northwest of San Bernardino, CA · earthquakes near San Bernardino
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 65 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 3 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 3765 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In San Bernardino, 2 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Colton, Muscoy, Rialto, Loma Linda, Highland, Grand Terrace.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.7 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 13,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 6 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 47 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 36 km W 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 34.1175, -117.3087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 65 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 88 km (55 mi) W earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Bernardino County, CA 132 km (82 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino 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. 1.6 2km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  2. 2.8 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  3. 2.5 2km NNE of Loma Linda, CA
  4. 1.6 7km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  5. 1.7 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  6. 1.5 3km ENE of Banning, CA
  7. 1.5 8km SSW of Lytle Creek, CA
  8. 2.1 4km NNW of San Jacinto, CA
  9. 1.8 2km SW of Mira Loma, CA
  10. 2.0 7km SSW of Devore, CA
  11. 1.7 7km SSW of Devore, CA
  12. 1.6 2km SSE of Loma Linda, CA
  13. 1.6 5km SSW of Banning, CA
  14. 1.7 10km NNW of Banning, CA
  15. 2.4 2km NE of Colton, 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.