QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Beaumont, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Beaumont in the 24 hours to 4:18 am PST (12:18 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 14 km (8 mi) S, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Beaumont

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Beaumont, CA, at 6:26 am PDT on 14 March 2018 (13:26 UTC), 4.9 km deep. 67 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km NNW of Beaumont, CA

9 km (6 mi) NNW of Beaumont, CA · 131 km (82 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

6:26 am PDT, Mar 14, 2018 · · 4.9 km deep · released about 380 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 79 kmRiverside County 94 kmSan Diego County 105 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
6:26 am PDT on 14 March 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Beaumont, CA · earthquakes near Beaumont
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
4.9 km below the surface
Felt
67 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Orange County, 79 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Beaumont Plain 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 3030 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Beaumont, 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: Beaumont 3 km, intensity III · Yucaipa 10 km, intensity III · Banning 11 km, intensity III · Mentone 19 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 19 km, intensity II · Redlands 21 km, intensity II · Moreno Valley 22 km, intensity II · Hemet 23 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 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 21 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 47 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 35 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 33.9525, -116.9877. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 79 km (49 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 94 km (59 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 105 km (65 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 120 km (75 mi) WNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Bernardino County, CA 125 km (78 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 7km NNW of Highland, CA
  2. 1.6 5km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  3. 1.5 5km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  4. 2.9 5km S of Idyllwild, CA
  5. 2.2 9km N of Cabazon, CA
  6. 1.6 3km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  7. 1.5 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  8. 1.7 8km SSW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  9. 1.7 11km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
  10. 2.1 6km NNE of Banning, CA
  11. 1.7 2km NNE of Colton, CA
  12. 3.0 6km NE of Fontana, CA
  13. 2.4 4km NW of Cabazon, CA
  14. 1.8 4km NNE of Fontana, CA
  15. 1.6 3km NNW 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.