QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Banning, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Banning in the 24 hours to 3:21 am PST (11:21 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Banning, CA, at 9:05 am PST on 28 February 2018 (17:05 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 1km ENE of Banning, CA

10 km (6 mi) NE of Beaumont, CA · 143 km (89 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

9:05 am PST, Feb 28, 2018 · · 16 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 83 kmOrange County 89 kmSan Diego 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
9:05 am PST on 28 February 2018 ()
Where
in Banning, CA · earthquakes near Banning
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 83 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Gorgonio Pass 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 3178 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. 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, Beaumont, Cherry Valley, San Jacinto, Calimesa, Yucaipa.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 7,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 30 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 50 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 21 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 31 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 50 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 33.9285, -116.8645. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 83 km (51 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 89 km (55 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 101 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 121 km (75 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

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

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