Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Twentynine Palms, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Twentynine Palms in the 24 hours to 9:16 pm PST (05:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 mi) SW, at 9:51 am PDT on 1 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Twentynine Palms
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) north-northeast of Twentynine Palms, CA, at 5:29 am PST on 5 March 2017 (13:29 UTC), 5.2 km deep.
USGS: 14km SW of Amboy, CA
- When
- 5:29 am PST on 5 March 2017 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) north-northeast of Twentynine Palms, CA · earthquakes near Twentynine Palms
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 53 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Bullion Mountains fault, 20 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 3466 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Twentynine Palms, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Twentynine Palms, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Twentynine Palms, 42 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 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 4.1 on 2016-01-24 — about 5,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 17km WSW of Amboy, CA · 7 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 21km SW of Ludlow, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.4 32km SSW of Ludlow, California · 37 km W 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 34.4703, -115.8498. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | NW | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Riverside County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | S | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 14km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.7 15km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.3 17km SW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.6 14km W of Ludlow, CA
- 1.9 18km SW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.1 18km SW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.7 19km SSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.7 6km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.2 17km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.9 7km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 3.0 7km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.0 14km NE of Ludlow, CA
- 3.7 13km NE of Ludlow, CA
- 2.8 17km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.9 13km W 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.