QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Calimesa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Calimesa in the 24 hours to 10:25 am PST (18:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 7 km (4 mi) WSW, at 10:33 pm PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Calimesa

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) east of Calimesa, CA, at 5:05 pm PDT on 13 October 2017 (00:05 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 5km ENE of Calimesa, CA

5 km (3 mi) SE of Yucaipa, CA · 130 km (81 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

5:05 pm PDT, Oct 13, 2017 · · 10 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 80 kmRiverside County 97 kmSan Diego County 111 kmLos Angeles County 118 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
5:05 pm PDT on 13 October 2017 ()
Where
6 km (3 mi) east of Calimesa, CA · earthquakes near Calimesa
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 80 km WSW
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 3304 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Calimesa, 6 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: Cherry Valley, Yucaipa, Beaumont, Banning, Mentone, Redlands.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 17,000 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 · 27 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 28 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 50 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 36 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 33.9997, -117.0022. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 80 km (50 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 97 km (60 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 111 km (69 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Los Angeles County, CA 118 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Bernardino County, CA 121 km (75 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

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

  1. 1.9 9km NNW of Anza, CA
  2. 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  3. 1.6 4km S of Redlands, CA
  4. 1.6 9km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  5. 1.9 5km N of Cabazon, CA
  6. 1.7 9km ESE of Big Bear City, CA
  7. 2.1 1km S of Loma Linda, CA
  8. 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  9. 1.9 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  10. 1.8 5km S of Idyllwild, CA
  11. 1.8 8km E of Murrieta Hot Springs, CA
  12. 1.8 4km N of Beaumont, CA
  13. 2.2 4km NNW of Valle Vista, CA
  14. 1.9 5km NNW of Lake Elsinore, CA
  15. 1.7 10km SW 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.