QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 4:11 am PST (12:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 1:04 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 58 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Idyllwild

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Idyllwild, CA, at 8:40 am PDT on 3 July 2020 (15:40 UTC), 16 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km S of Idyllwild, CA

26 km (16 mi) ESE of Hemet, CA · 103 km (64 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA

8:40 am PDT, Jul 3, 2020 · · 16 km deep · released about 360 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 67 kmSan Diego County 72 kmOrange County 98 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
8:40 am PDT on 3 July 2020 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 67 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto 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 2253 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Idyllwild, 8 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: Idyllwild 8 km, intensity II · Anza 14 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 360 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 42,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 30,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 360 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 5,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 25 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 49 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 42 km NNE 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 33.6705, -116.7223. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 67 km (42 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 72 km (45 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 98 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2km NNE of Beaumont, CA
  2. 1.9 2km SW of Garnet, CA
  3. 1.8 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  4. 1.5 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  5. 1.6 7km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  6. 2.0 18km ESE of Anza, CA
  7. 1.6 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  8. 1.6 9km NW of Morongo Valley, CA
  9. 2.4 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  10. 1.8 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  11. 2.1 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  12. 1.6 7km ENE of Aguanga, CA
  13. 1.6 5km NE of Cabazon, CA
  14. 1.8 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  15. 1.8 16km ESE of Anza, 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.