QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Lake Elsinore, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Lake Elsinore in the 24 hours to 12:38 pm PST (20:38 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 45 km (28 mi) NNW, at 5:37 am PDT on 2 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 730 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lake Elsinore

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.9 quarry blast was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Lake Elsinore, CA, at 10:05 am PST on 20 November 2017 (18:05 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 5km NNW of Lake Elsinore, CA

in Lake Elsinore, CA · 105 km (65 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

10:05 am PST, Nov 20, 2017 · · -0.5 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lake Elsinore Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 41 kmSan Diego County 93 kmLos Angeles 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
10:05 am PST on 20 November 2017 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Lake Elsinore, CA · earthquakes near Lake Elsinore
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
-0.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 41 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore 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 3278 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Lake Elsinore, 5 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.

Likely felt in: Lake Elsinore 5 km, intensity II · Perris 13 km, intensity II · Wildomar 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 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 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 6,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 34 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 42 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 6 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 37 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 33.7138, -117.3387. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 41 km (25 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 93 km (58 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 101 km (63 mi) WNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 4km S of Redlands, CA
  2. 1.6 9km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  3. 2.4 3km SW of San Bernardino, CA
  4. 1.6 3km E of Mission Viejo, CA
  5. 2.2 3km NNW of Glen Avon, CA
  6. 2.0 7km SSE of Redlands, CA
  7. 1.6 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  8. 2.5 2km E of San Jacinto, CA
  9. 1.7 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  10. 2.0 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  11. 2.8 6km NNW of San Jacinto, CA
  12. 1.7 4km NW of Corona, CA
  13. 2.1 2km SE of Mentone, CA
  14. 1.6 4km SSE of Banning, CA
  15. 1.7 7km NE of Beaumont, 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.