QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Banning, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Banning in the 24 hours to 10:23 pm PST (06:23 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 15 km (10 mi) SSW, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Banning

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) northeast of Banning, CA, at 9:12 am PST on 11 January 2017 (17:12 UTC), 17 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7km NE of Banning, CA

16 km (10 mi) NE of Beaumont, CA · 146 km (91 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

9:12 am PST, Jan 11, 2017 · · 17 km deep · released about 23 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 81 kmOrange County 94 kmSan Diego County 106 kmSan Bernardino County 114 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
9:12 am PST on 11 January 2017 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) northeast of Banning, CA · earthquakes near Banning
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 81 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas 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 3563 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Banning, 7 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: Cabazon, Cherry Valley, Beaumont, Yucaipa, Calimesa, Morongo Valley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 23 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 23 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 5,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 35 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 44 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 27 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 25 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 47 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 33.9762, -116.8258. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 81 km (50 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 94 km (58 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 106 km (66 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 114 km (71 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

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

  1. 2.2 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  2. 1.9 4km NW of Beaumont, CA
  3. 1.6 8km E of Cabazon, CA
  4. 1.7 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  5. 2.0 4km ESE of Yucaipa, CA
  6. 1.7 1km SSE of Loma Linda, CA
  7. 1.8 15km SSW of Valle Vista, CA
  8. 3.1 5km NE of Yucaipa, CA
  9. 1.6 10km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
  10. 1.7 7km SSW of Redlands, CA
  11. 1.9 11km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
  12. 2.1 8km NNE of Cabazon, CA
  13. 1.7 4km W of Calimesa, CA
  14. 1.5 19km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  15. 1.8 3km NW of Cabazon, 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.