QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Barstow Heights, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow Heights in the 24 hours to 4:11 am PST (12:11 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 6 km (4 mi) NNE, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow Heights

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) southeast of Barstow Heights, CA, at 2:02 pm PST on 12 December 2016 (22:02 UTC), 5.8 km deep.

USGS: 37km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA

54 km (34 mi) ENE of Apple Valley, CA · 104 km (65 mi) NE of Riverside, CA

2:02 pm PST, Dec 12, 2016 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barstow Heights Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 48 kmRiverside County 115 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
2:02 pm PST on 12 December 2016 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) southeast of Barstow Heights, CA · earthquakes near Barstow Heights
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 48 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Camp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain fault, 2 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow Heights, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 4.3 on 2016-02-20 — about 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 33 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 40 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 31 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 26km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA · 34 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 21km SW of Ludlow, California · 29 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 34.6290, -116.6287. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 48 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Riverside County, CA 115 km (72 mi) SSE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 150 km (93 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2 km SE of Big Bear City, California
  2. 1.5 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, California
  3. 2.8 56 km N of Joshua Tree, California
  4. 1.7 57 km ESE of Barstow, California
  5. 1.7 15 km NNE of Apple Valley, California
  6. 2.1 36km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  7. 1.9 10km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
  8. 2.1 2km SE of Big Bear City, CA
  9. 3.1 2km SSE of Big Bear City, CA
  10. 1.8 9km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  11. 2.0 5km ENE of Barstow, CA
  12. 1.6 30km WSW of Ludlow, CA
  13. 1.7 30km SW of Ludlow, CA
  14. 1.7 8km WSW of Ludlow, CA
  15. 1.8 8km WSW of Ludlow, 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.