QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Moreno Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Moreno Valley in the 24 hours to 3:45 am PST (11:45 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 11 km (7 mi) N, at 10:40 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Moreno Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of Moreno Valley, CA, at 11:16 pm PST on 7 December 2016 (07:16 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 4km N of Moreno Valley, CA

5 km (3 mi) NNW of Moreno Valley, CA

11:16 pm PST, Dec 7, 2016 · · 13 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Moreno Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 60 kmLos Angeles County 99 kmSan Diego County 113 kmRiverside County 116 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
11:16 pm PST on 7 December 2016 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north of Moreno Valley, CA · earthquakes near Moreno Valley
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 60 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto 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 3564 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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Moreno Valley, 3 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: March Air Force Base, Loma Linda, Redlands, Grand Terrace, Highgrove, Mentone.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 8,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 33 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 14 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 34 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 35 km NNE 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 33.9668, -117.2252. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 60 km (38 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 99 km (61 mi) WNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 113 km (70 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 116 km (72 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Bernardino County, CA 138 km (86 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

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

  1. 2.4 9km E of Yorba Linda, CA
  2. 1.7 10km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  3. 1.7 10km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  4. 1.7 2km E of Loma Linda, CA
  5. 1.7 4km NNW of Nuevo, CA
  6. 2.1 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  7. 1.5 5km NNW of Fontana, CA
  8. 1.6 7km ESE of Yucaipa, CA
  9. 1.8 2km SW of Loma Linda, CA
  10. 1.7 9km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  11. 1.8 8km S of Redlands, CA
  12. 1.9 7km NE of Banning, CA
  13. 1.6 3km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  14. 2.4 6km SSW of Big Bear City, CA
  15. 1.7 10km NNE of Trabuco Canyon, 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.