Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Garnet, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Garnet in the 24 hours to 4:06 am PST (12:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 60 km (37 mi) SSW, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 165 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Garnet
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Garnet, CA, at 3:23 am PDT on 26 August 2020 (10:23 UTC), 12 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km SW of Garnet, CA
10 km (7 mi) WNW of Cathedral City, CA · 131 km (81 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 3:23 am PDT on 26 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Garnet, CA · earthquakes near Garnet
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 54 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas 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 2261 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Garnet, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Garnet, 9 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: Palm Springs 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 4.9 on 2020-04-04 — about 32,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 43 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 24 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 24 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 33.8860, -116.5592. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 113 km (70 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Orange County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Imperial County, CA | 146 km (91 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 14km WNW of Anza, CA
- 2.9 8km NE of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.7 6km S of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.7 9km WNW of Garnet, CA
- 2.1 21km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.7 11km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 1.5 11km S of Joshua Tree, CA
- 2.4 22km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 12km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 10km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.2 21km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.5 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.0 14km NNE of Banning, CA
- 1.8 13km W of Anza, CA
- 2.0 1km SE 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
- 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.