Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Barstow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 3:44 am PST (11:44 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) north-northwest of Barstow, CA, at 6:05 am PST on 29 December 2020 (14:05 UTC), 2.1 km deep.
USGS: 30km NNW of Barstow, CA
- When
- 6:05 am PST on 29 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 30 km (19 mi) north-northwest of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 90 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Blackwater fault, 6 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, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Barstow, CA. No account or email needed.
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, 30 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 4.6 on 2020-01-25 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 33 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.0 27km S of Fort Irwin, CA · 38 km ESE 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 35.1608, -117.0995. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 151 km (94 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
23 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 20km S of Fort Irwin, CA
- 1.8 20km NNW of Barstow, CA
- 2.2 12km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 26km S of Trona, CA
- 1.8 28km E of Barstow, CA
- 1.5 32km ENE of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.8 33km S of Fort Irwin, CA
- 1.6 20km NNW of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 20km NNW of Barstow, CA
- 2.4 20km NNW of Barstow, CA
- 3.0 20km NNW of Barstow, CA
- 1.8 25km S of Trona, CA
- 2.6 28km ENE of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 16km N of Fort Irwin, CA
- 1.5 6km SW of Barstow, 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.