Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Barstow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 3:32 am PST (11:32 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northwest of Barstow, CA, at 12:07 pm PDT on 15 September 2016 (19:07 UTC), 1.8 km deep.
USGS: 24km NNW of Barstow, CA
- When
- 12:07 pm PDT on 15 September 2016 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) north-northwest of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 93 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Harper 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 3710 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Barstow, CA
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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 Barstow, 24 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: Lenwood, Barstow Heights.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 10 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 1,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 34 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.0 27km S of Fort Irwin, CA · 41 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 35.0798, -117.1677. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 140 km (87 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5 km NNW of Boron, California
- 1.6 4 km NW of Boron, California
- 1.5 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, California
- 1.6 4 km NNW of Boron, California
- 1.7 5 km NNW of Boron, California
- 1.7 4 km NNW of Boron, California
- 1.6 18 km ESE of Johannesburg, California
- 1.6 5 km NW of Boron, California
- 2.0 5km ENE of Barstow, CA
- 1.8 6km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.9 17km ESE of Barstow, CA
- 1.7 6km NNW of Boron, CA
- 2.1 37km ESE of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.7 5km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 16km NNE of Apple Valley, 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.