QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 12:04 am PST (08:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 1:04 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 58 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Idyllwild

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north of Idyllwild, CA, at 6:31 am PDT on 2 August 2017 (13:31 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 11km N of Idyllwild, CA

22 km (14 mi) W of Cathedral City, CA · 121 km (75 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA

6:31 am PDT, Aug 2, 2017 · · 17 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 66 kmSan Diego County 91 kmOrange County 101 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
6:31 am PDT on 2 August 2017 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) north of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 66 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 11 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 3303 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Idyllwild, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Idyllwild-Pine Cove, Cabazon, Palm Springs, Banning, Valle Vista, Desert Hot Springs.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 1,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 27 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 38 km ENE 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 33.8407, -116.7002. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 66 km (41 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 91 km (57 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 101 km (63 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County
San Bernardino County, CA 123 km (76 mi) NNE 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 5km WSW of Anza, CA
  2. 1.9 11km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  3. 2.6 9km E of Running Springs, CA
  4. 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
  5. 1.8 6km NE of Yucaipa, CA
  6. 1.5 12km N of Cabazon, CA
  7. 1.8 5km NNE of Moreno Valley, CA
  8. 1.8 6km ENE of Desert Hot Springs, CA
  9. 1.8 6km ENE of Desert Hot Springs, CA
  10. 2.5 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  11. 1.7 2km N of Beaumont, CA
  12. 1.8 5km E of Calimesa, CA
  13. 1.7 9km S of Cabazon, CA
  14. 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
  15. 1.9 9km NE of Aguanga, 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.