Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near San Bernardino, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in San Bernardino in the 24 hours to 10:55 pm PST (06:55 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (6 mi) SSE, at 10:40 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near San Bernardino
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) north-northeast of San Bernardino, CA, at 11:35 pm PST on 8 December 2017 (07:35 UTC), 3.2 km deep. 262 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km NE of San Bernardino, CA
5 km (3 mi) NE of San Bernardino, CA
- When
- 11:35 pm PST on 8 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) north-northeast of San Bernardino, CA · earthquakes near San Bernardino
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 262 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Orange County, 73 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, under 1 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 640 days ago
Earthquake alerts for San Bernardino, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near San Bernardino, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 30 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In San Bernardino, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Highland 6 km, intensity III · San Bernardino 7 km, intensity III · Muscoy 9 km, intensity III · Lake Arrowhead 11 km, intensity III · Colton 12 km, intensity III · Rialto 13 km, intensity III · Loma Linda 13 km, intensity III · Redlands 14 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 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 200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 39 km E of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 9 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 21 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 41 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 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 34.1670, -117.2502. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | W | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 124 km (77 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Riverside County, CA | 125 km (78 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 5km WNW of Fontana, CA
- 1.8 3km WSW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.5 3km NW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.9 9km NNE of Beaumont, CA
- 1.6 7km NNE of Beaumont, CA
- 1.8 11km NE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.6 11km SE of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 1.8 14km W of Morongo Valley, CA
- 2.1 11km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2.3 9km WSW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.5 5km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 2.0 3km WNW of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.5 3km WSW of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.5 6km NW of Highland, 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.