QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Barstow, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 3:01 am PST (11:01 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) northeast of Barstow, CA, at 5:01 pm PDT on 17 March 2020 (00:01 UTC), 6.1 km deep.

USGS: 12km NE of Barstow, CA

56 km (35 mi) NNE of Apple Valley, CA · 123 km (77 mi) NNE of Riverside, CA

5:01 pm PDT, Mar 17, 2020 · · 6.1 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barstow Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 70 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
5:01 pm PDT on 17 March 2020 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) northeast of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
6.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 70 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Calico-Hidalgo fault, 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 2430 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 12 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 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 4.6 on 2020-01-25 — about 7,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 37 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 11 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 46 km E of Barstow, California · 42 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 27km S of Fort Irwin, CA · 20 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 34.9818, -116.9360. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 70 km (44 mi) E earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 23km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA
  2. 3.0 23km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA
  3. 2.9 22km NNE of Barstow, CA
  4. 2.4 22km NNE of Barstow, CA
  5. 2.1 15km NE of Barstow, CA
  6. 1.8 34km NE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  7. 2.7 22km NNE of Barstow, CA
  8. 1.7 30km ENE of Boron, CA
  9. 2.3 30km NNW of Barstow, CA
  10. 2.3 37km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  11. 2.1 36km ESE of Johannesburg, CA
  12. 2.6 29km ENE of Barstow, CA
  13. 2.0 18km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA
  14. 2.0 10km N of Barstow, CA
  15. 1.8 17 km WNW of Fort Irwin, California

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.