QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Valle Vista, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Valle Vista in the 24 hours to 3:15 am PST (11:15 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 9 km (6 mi) NW, at 8:52 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Valle Vista

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Valle Vista, CA, at 7:34 am PST on 28 February 2018 (15:34 UTC), 11 km deep. 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km ESE of Valle Vista, CA

12 km (7 mi) E of Hemet, CA · 146 km (91 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

7:34 am PST, Feb 28, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 380 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Valle Vista Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 80 kmRiverside County 80 kmOrange County 85 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
7:34 am PST on 28 February 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Valle Vista, CA · earthquakes near Valle Vista
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
16 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
San Diego County, 80 km S
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 3 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 2832 days ago

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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Valle Vista, 3 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: Valle Vista 3 km, intensity III · Hemet 10 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 10 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 14 km, intensity II · Banning 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 380 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 40,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 29,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 380 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 310 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 10 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 50 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 38 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 48 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 46 km NE 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 33.7348, -116.8663. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 80 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 80 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 85 km (53 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7km NNE of Cabazon, CA
  2. 1.6 10km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  3. 2.1 9km NNW of Anza, CA
  4. 2.5 2km NE of Redlands, CA
  5. 1.9 2km NE of Redlands, CA
  6. 1.6 2km NE of Redlands, CA
  7. 1.5 10km N of Cabazon, CA
  8. 1.7 9km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  9. 2.0 5km S of Idyllwild, CA
  10. 1.8 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  11. 2.1 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  12. 1.8 5km S of Idyllwild, CA
  13. 2.4 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  14. 2.3 5km SSE of Mentone, CA
  15. 1.6 10km SSW of Idyllwild, 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.