QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Big Bear City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear City in the 24 hours to 3:04 am PST (11:04 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Big Bear City, CA, at 10:59 am PDT on 27 July 2016 (17:59 UTC), 4.2 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 12km SSE of Big Bear City, CA

26 km (16 mi) ENE of Yucaipa, CA · 148 km (92 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

10:59 am PDT, Jul 27, 2016 · · 4.2 km deep · released about 260 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 89 kmSan Bernardino County 96 kmOrange County 104 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
10:59 am PDT on 27 July 2016 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Big Bear City, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear City
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
4.2 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 89 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 10 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 3756 days ago

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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear City, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 12 km, intensity III · Big Bear Lake 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 450 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 37 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 34 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 47 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 5 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 42 km W of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 48 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 34.1613, -116.8087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 89 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Bernardino County, CA 96 km (60 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Orange County, CA 104 km (65 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 5km SSW of Redlands, CA
  2. 2.0 12km NNE of Banning, CA
  3. 1.9 10km SSW of Joshua Tree, CA
  4. 2.2 13km SE of Yucca Valley, CA
  5. 3.4 11km ENE of Desert Hot Springs, CA
  6. 1.6 14km S of Big Bear Lake, CA
  7. 2.2 14km S of Big Bear Lake, CA
  8. 1.9 9km NW of San Jacinto, CA
  9. 2.4 11km ENE of Desert Hot Springs, CA
  10. 1.5 15km S of Joshua Tree, CA
  11. 1.9 9km N of Cabazon, CA
  12. 2.4 9km ESE of Big Bear City, CA
  13. 1.5 6km ENE of San Jacinto, CA
  14. 1.9 12km N of Cabazon, CA
  15. 1.6 13km NNE of Running Springs, 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.