Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Banning, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Banning in the 24 hours to 5:39 am PST (13:39 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 15 km (10 mi) SSW, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Banning
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Banning, CA, at 11:34 am PST on 4 February 2020 (19:34 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 5km SSW of Banning, CA
6 km (4 mi) E of Beaumont, CA · 141 km (88 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 11:34 am PST on 4 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Banning, CA · earthquakes near Banning
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 84 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Beaumont Plain fault, 4 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 2472 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Banning, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Banning, 5 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: Beaumont, Cabazon, Cherry Valley, San Jacinto, Valle Vista, East Hemet.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 25,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 16 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 36 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 41 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 29 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 42 km NNW 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 33.8848, -116.8927. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 126 km (78 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 7km ENE of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.8 13km W of Anza, CA
- 1.7 8km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.1 5km N of Murrieta, CA
- 1.7 3km NE of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.9 1km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.8 9km SE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.9 9km NNE of Banning, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Redlands, CA
- 2.1 10km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2.4 9km SW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 2.0 2km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.9 7km NE of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.7 9km SE of Valle Vista, 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.