Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Barstow Heights, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow Heights in the 24 hours to 3:21 am PST (11:21 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 6 km (4 mi) NNE, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow Heights
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Barstow Heights, CA, at 6:03 pm PST on 26 December 2020 (02:03 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 37km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
54 km (34 mi) E of Apple Valley, CA · 104 km (65 mi) NE of Riverside, CA
- When
- 6:03 pm PST on 26 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Barstow Heights, CA · earthquakes near Barstow Heights
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 48 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Camp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain 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 2137 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Barstow Heights, 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow Heights, 48 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 4.3 on 2016-02-20 — about 970 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 33 km E of this epicentre
- 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 41 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 31 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 26km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA · 34 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 21km SW of Ludlow, California · 28 km E 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 34.6270, -116.6282. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Riverside County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 150 km (93 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 10km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.5 3km ENE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.6 38km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.6 24km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 2.3 7km NNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.5 33km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.6 12km NW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.6 15km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.9 29km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 1.8 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.6 28km ENE of Barstow, CA
- 1.9 24km W of Ludlow, CA
- 2.1 28km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.6 4km ENE of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.2 17km N of Yucca Valley, 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.