Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Colton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Colton in the 24 hours to 3:37 am PST (11:37 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) SE, at 10:40 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Colton
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded in Colton, CA, at 1:38 am PDT on 4 November 2017 (08:38 UTC), 18 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1km NNW of Colton, CA
in Colton, CA · 101 km (63 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 1:38 am PDT on 4 November 2017 ()
- Where
- in Colton, CA · earthquakes near Colton
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 18 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Orange County, 62 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto 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 3290 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Colton, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Colton in town, intensity II · San Bernardino 4 km, intensity II · Rialto 5 km, intensity II · Loma Linda 7 km, intensity II · Muscoy 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 1,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 48 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 6 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 43 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 31 km NE 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 34.0847, -117.3185. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | W | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Diego County, CA | 128 km (80 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 135 km (84 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
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 3km ENE of Rialto, CA
- 3.1 4km SE of Ontario, CA
- 2.6 11km NNE of Trabuco Canyon, CA
- 2.1 11km NNE of Trabuco Canyon, CA
- 1.6 4km WNW of Muscoy, CA
- 1.7 4km S of Redlands, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Devore, CA
- 2.2 9km SW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 2.4 3km SW of San Bernardino, CA
- 1.5 3km WSW of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- 2.2 3km NNW of Glen Avon, CA
- 2.0 7km SSE of Redlands, CA
- 1.5 8km SSW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.6 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 2.5 2km E of San Jacinto, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.