Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Phelan, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Phelan in the 24 hours to 5:48 am PST (13:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 46 km (28 mi) S, at 5:37 am PDT on 2 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 730 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Phelan
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Phelan, CA, at 6:25 am PDT on 2 October 2019 (13:25 UTC), 10 km deep. 122 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km NNE of Phelan, CA
98 km (61 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA · 16 km (10 mi) W of Victorville, CA
- When
- 6:25 am PDT on 2 October 2019 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Phelan, CA · earthquakes near Phelan
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 122 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 76 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 20 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
Earthquake alerts for Phelan, 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 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Phelan, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Phelan 10 km, intensity III · Wrightwood 19 km, intensity II · Hesperia 22 km, intensity II · Apple Valley 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 4.4 on 2018-08-29 — about 150 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 3km W of Lytle Creek, CA · 28 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 34.5078, -117.5250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 95 km (59 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Kern County, CA | 144 km (90 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kern 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.
- 1.6 1km SW of Devore, CA
- 1.6 2km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
- 1.8 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- 1.7 4km E of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- 1.7 2km WNW of Muscoy, CA
- 2.1 10km NNE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.6 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- 2.0 2km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
- 1.6 8km WNW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.5 5km SE of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.8 4km ENE of Lake Arrowhead, CA
- 1.5 4km SSE of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.6 8km N of Claremont, CA
- 1.6 7km N of Claremont, CA
- 2.1 8km N of Claremont, 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.