QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Fontana, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Fontana in the 24 hours to 10:53 pm PST (06:53 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 5 km (3 mi) W, at 6:17 am PDT on 26 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fontana

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Fontana, CA, at 5:34 pm PDT on 16 August 2017 (00:34 UTC), 7.5 km deep.

USGS: 3km S of Lytle Creek, CA

13 km (8 mi) NNE of Rancho Cucamonga, CA · 87 km (54 mi) ENE of Los Angeles, CA

5:34 pm PDT, Aug 16, 2017 · · 7.5 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fontana Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 67 kmLos Angeles County 70 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
5:34 pm PDT on 16 August 2017 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Fontana, CA · earthquakes near Fontana
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
7.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 67 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto 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 3303 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fontana, 17 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rancho Cucamonga, San Antonio Heights, Muscoy, Wrightwood, Rialto, Oak Hills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 28 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 45 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 43 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 20 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 40 km SW 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 34.2337, -117.5037. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 67 km (42 mi) SSW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 70 km (43 mi) W earthquakes near Los Angeles County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  2. 2.3 11km SE of Running Springs, CA
  3. 1.8 5km S of Lytle Creek, CA
  4. 1.7 5km WNW of Devore, CA
  5. 2.3 6km ENE of Glendora, CA
  6. 2.1 1km NW of Loma Linda, CA
  7. 1.6 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  8. 3.0 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  9. 1.6 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  10. 1.6 8km WSW of Calimesa, CA
  11. 2.1 2km SE of Colton, CA
  12. 2.0 8km N of La Verne, CA
  13. 2.0 1km NNE of Calimesa, CA
  14. 1.7 6km ENE of Lake Arrowhead, CA
  15. 1.8 4km E of Running Springs, 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.