QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Garnet, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Garnet in the 24 hours to 3:27 am PST (11:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 60 km (37 mi) SSW, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Garnet

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Garnet, CA, at 5:56 pm PDT on 18 October 2019 (00:56 UTC), 15 km deep. 176 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km W of Garnet, CA

17 km (10 mi) WNW of Cathedral City, CA · 129 km (80 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA

5:56 pm PDT, Oct 18, 2019 · · 15 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 61 kmSan Diego County 98 kmOrange County 109 kmSan Bernardino County 115 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
5:56 pm PDT on 18 October 2019 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Garnet, CA · earthquakes near Garnet
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
176 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Riverside County, 61 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 3 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 36 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Garnet, 15 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: Palm Springs 10 km, intensity III · Desert Hot Springs 14 km, intensity II · Morongo Valley 18 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 19 km, intensity II · Cathedral City 20 km, intensity II · Banning 23 km, intensity II · Thousand Palms 24 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 150 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 32 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 35 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 39 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 30 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 29 km ENE 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 33.8927, -116.6305. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 61 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 98 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 109 km (68 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
San Bernardino County, CA 115 km (71 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Imperial County, CA 152 km (94 mi) SE earthquakes near Imperial County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 8km NNE of Yucaipa, CA
  2. 2.0 6km NE of Aguanga, CA
  3. 1.9 18km ESE of Anza, CA
  4. 2.1 10km N of Cabazon, CA
  5. 1.9 10km S of Joshua Tree, CA
  6. 1.7 15km SE of Big Bear City, CA
  7. 1.6 13km NE of Yucaipa, CA
  8. 1.9 6km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  9. 1.7 13km ESE of Anza, CA
  10. 2.2 6km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  11. 1.6 11km NE of Indio, CA
  12. 1.9 6km WNW of Anza, CA
  13. 1.7 3km SE of Yucca Valley, CA
  14. 1.6 16km N of Indio, CA
  15. 2.9 16km NW of Morongo Valley, 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.