QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Boron, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Boron in the 24 hours to 5:12 am PST (13:12 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 5 km (3 mi) NNW, at 4:15 pm PST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Boron

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) east-southeast of Boron, CA, at 4:32 am PDT on 20 May 2020 (11:32 UTC), 4.9 km deep.

USGS: 27km ESE of Boron, CA

39 km (24 mi) N of Victorville, CA · 133 km (83 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA

4:32 am PDT, May 20, 2020 · · 4.9 km deep · released about 100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 110 kmSan Bernardino County 110 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
4:32 am PDT on 20 May 2020 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) east-southeast of Boron, CA · earthquakes near Boron
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
4.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 110 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Helendale-South Lockhart fault, 2 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 2366 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Boron, 27 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: Silver Lakes, Lenwood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 140,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 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 4.6 on 2020-01-25 — about 2,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 34.8757, -117.3915. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 110 km (68 mi) SW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Bernardino County, CA 110 km (69 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

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

  1. 1.5 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  2. 2.5 15km WNW of Adelanto, CA
  3. 1.6 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  4. 1.8 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  5. 2.0 10km N of Barstow, CA
  6. 1.5 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  7. 1.8 4km NW of Boron, CA
  8. 1.5 6km NNW of Boron, CA
  9. 1.9 5km NW of Boron, CA
  10. 1.8 5km NW of Boron, CA
  11. 2.0 5km NNW of Boron, CA
  12. 2.0 5km NW of Boron, CA
  13. 2.1 10km NNW of Adelanto, CA
  14. 1.8 5km NW of Boron, CA
  15. 1.8 5km NNW of Boron, 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.