QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Barstow, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 3:21 am PST (11:21 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) northeast of Barstow, CA, at 7:49 pm PDT on 31 July 2019 (02:49 UTC), 5.2 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 26km NE of Barstow, CA

7:49 pm PDT, Jul 31, 2019 · · 5.2 km deep · released about 1,500 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barstow Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 59 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
7:49 pm PDT on 31 July 2019 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) northeast of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
5.2 km below the surface
Felt
9 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 59 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Calico-Hidalgo fault, 11 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 759 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 43 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 26 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: Barstow 26 km, intensity II · Fort Irwin 27 km, intensity II · Barstow Heights 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,500 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 9,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× more

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 57 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 25 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 7 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 46 km E of Barstow, California · 34 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 25km W of Ludlow, CA · 49 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 26km WNW of Ludlow, CA · 42 km SE 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 35.0348, -116.7968. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 59 km (37 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 12km NE of Barstow, CA
  2. 2.1 40km WNW of Ludlow, CA
  3. 2.0 40km WNW of Ludlow, CA
  4. 1.8 23km ENE of Barstow, CA
  5. 2.0 25 km W of Ludlow, CA
  6. 1.9 22km NNE of Barstow, CA
  7. 2.5 34km E of Barstow, CA
  8. 1.9 13km ENE of Fort Irwin, CA
  9. 1.6 23km NW of Ludlow, CA
  10. 2.0 12km NE of Barstow, CA
  11. 2.3 22km NNE of Barstow, CA
  12. 2.1 10km NNW of Fort Irwin, CA
  13. 2.1 22km NNE of Barstow, CA
  14. 2.0 17km E of Barstow, CA
  15. 2.7 22km NNE of Barstow, 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.