Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Banning, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Banning in the 24 hours to 3:50 am PST (11:50 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 3 km (2 mi) west of Banning, CA, at 5:44 am PDT on 21 June 2020 (12:44 UTC), 7.8 km deep.
USGS: 3 km W of Banning, CA
6 km (4 mi) NE of Beaumont, CA · 139 km (86 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 5:44 am PDT on 21 June 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west of Banning, CA · earthquakes near Banning
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 84 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gorgonio Pass 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 1136 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Banning, 3 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: Banning 3 km, intensity II · Beaumont 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 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 26,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 18 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 37 km WNW 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 · 37 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 33.9198, -116.9122. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 87 km (54 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 124 km (77 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
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 5km NNE of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.8 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
- 2.1 8km SE of Valle Vista, CA
- 1.6 5km NE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.5 2km SSE of Redlands, CA
- 1.8 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.0 7km SSW of Redlands, CA
- 1.7 8km ENE of Aguanga, CA
- 2.7 7km SSW of Beaumont, CA
- 1.7 4km WSW of Banning, CA
- 1.7 10km ENE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.7 11km NNE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.7 5km SE of Redlands, CA
- 2.0 10km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.9 3km ESE of Loma Linda, 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.