Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Morongo Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Morongo Valley in the 24 hours to 2:20 pm PST (22:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 72 km (44 mi) S, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Morongo Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) south of Morongo Valley, CA, at 4:36 pm PDT on 12 May 2019 (23:36 UTC), 8.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km S of Morongo Valley, CA
22 km (14 mi) NNW of Cathedral City, CA · 143 km (89 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 4:36 pm PDT on 12 May 2019 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) south of Morongo Valley, CA · earthquakes near Morongo Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 62 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 2740 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Morongo Valley, 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Morongo Valley, 4 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.
Likely felt in: Morongo Valley 4 km, intensity II · Desert Hot Springs 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 4.5 on 2018-05-08 — about 7,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 36 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 24 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 46 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 31 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 25 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 23 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 34.0123, -116.5762. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 62 km (38 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| San Diego County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Imperial County, CA | 156 km (97 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 4.2 16km S of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.7 12km SSE of Valle Vista, CA
- 1.6 4km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.5 7km NW of Anza, CA
- 1.7 8km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.8 8km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.2 4km E of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.9 5km NNE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.7 4km WSW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.5 8km ENE of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.8 10km S of Yucca Valley, CA
- 2.0 13km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 2.3 5km E of Cabazon, CA
- 2.0 10km NNE of Yucaipa, 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.