QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Big Bear City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear City in the 24 hours to 4:34 am PST (12:34 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:11 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Bear City

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 14 km (8 mi) south of Big Bear City, CA, at 11:50 am PST on 18 February 2020 (19:50 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 14km S of Big Bear City, CA

23 km (14 mi) ENE of Yucaipa, CA · 146 km (91 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

11:50 am PST, Feb 18, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 22 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 89 kmSan Bernardino County 99 kmOrange 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
11:50 am PST on 18 February 2020 ()
Where
14 km (8 mi) south of Big Bear City, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear City
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 89 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 7 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 2457 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear City, 14 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Big Bear Lake, Yucaipa, Cherry Valley, Banning, Cabazon, Morongo Valley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 22 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 5.8 680,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 480,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 43× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 22 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 7,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 36 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 37 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 7 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 40 km W of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 49 km ESE 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 34.1402, -116.8303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 89 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Bernardino County, CA 99 km (62 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Orange County, CA 102 km (63 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange 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. 1.5 6km NW of Calimesa, CA
  2. 1.5 22km N of Yucca Valley, CA
  3. 1.9 10km N of Big Bear City, CA
  4. 1.6 4km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  5. 1.9 10km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  6. 2.3 10km SE of Yucca Valley, CA
  7. 1.6 2km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
  8. 3.0 6km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  9. 2.3 6km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  10. 2.3 6km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  11. 1.7 10km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  12. 1.6 10km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  13. 2.3 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  14. 2.9 10km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  15. 1.7 10km NE of Big Bear City, 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.