QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Barstow, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 9:51 pm PST (05:51 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east of Barstow, CA, at 4:00 pm PDT on 3 July 2017 (23:00 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: 36km WNW of Ludlow, CA

4:00 pm PDT, Jul 3, 2017 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 29 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
4:00 pm PDT on 3 July 2017 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) east of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 29 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Manix fault, 10 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 3414 days ago

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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 4.3 on 2016-02-20 — about 2,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 10 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 31 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 21km SW of Ludlow, California · 38 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 38km SW of Ludlow, CA · 43 km S 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 34.8982, -116.4925. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 29 km (18 mi) E earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 24km W of Ludlow, CA
  2. 1.7 35km NE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  3. 2.1 26km WNW of Ludlow, CA
  4. 2.9 26km WNW of Ludlow, CA
  5. 1.9 18km SW of Ludlow, CA
  6. 2.1 18km SW of Ludlow, CA
  7. 2.1 40km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  8. 1.6 18km W of Ludlow, CA
  9. 1.7 19km SSW of Ludlow, CA
  10. 3.3 26km NW of Ludlow, CA
  11. 1.6 13km W of Ludlow, CA
  12. 2.8 18km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA
  13. 2.3 39km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  14. 1.5 12km NE of Barstow, CA
  15. 1.7 6km WSW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.