QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Yucca Valley, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Yucca Valley in the 24 hours to 6:16 am PST (14:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 18 km (11 mi) SE, at 9:51 am PDT on 1 August 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Yucca Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) north of Yucca Valley, CA, at 5:01 pm PDT on 20 July 2018 (00:01 UTC), 1.3 km deep.

USGS: 35km WSW of Ludlow, CA

5:01 pm PDT, Jul 20, 2018 · · 1.3 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yucca Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 44 kmRiverside County 102 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
5:01 pm PDT on 20 July 2018 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) north of Yucca Valley, CA · earthquakes near Yucca Valley
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
1.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 44 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Calico-Hidalgo fault, 4 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 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Yucca Valley, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 4,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 40 km S of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 21 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 48 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 50 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 3km NE of Yucca Valley, California · 48 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 34.5545, -116.4903. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 44 km (27 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Riverside County, CA 102 km (63 mi) SSE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 154 km (95 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  2. 1.8 19km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  3. 1.9 35km WSW of Ludlow, CA
  4. 2.0 29km E of Barstow, CA
  5. 2.0 28km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  6. 1.7 10km SSE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  7. 1.7 38km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  8. 2.3 2km WNW of Big Bear City, CA
  9. 2.4 34km NE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  10. 1.6 28km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  11. 2.0 30km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  12. 1.5 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  13. 1.7 23km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  14. 1.6 23km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  15. 1.7 24km W 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.