Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Colton, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Colton in the 24 hours to 6:49 am PST (14:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) SE, at 10:40 am PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Colton
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) northeast of Colton, CA, at 12:29 pm PDT on 16 March 2021 (19:29 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 2km NE of Colton, CA
6 km (3 mi) S of San Bernardino, CA · in Colton, CA
- When
- 12:29 pm PDT on 16 March 2021 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) northeast of Colton, CA · earthquakes near Colton
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Orange County, 64 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto 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 2066 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Colton, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Colton, 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Colton, 2 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: San Bernardino 2 km, intensity II · Colton 2 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 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 4 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 29 km NE 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 34.0910, -117.2988. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 64 km (40 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 89 km (56 mi) | W | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Riverside County, CA | 126 km (78 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 128 km (80 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 133 km (83 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 11km ENE of North Tustin, CA
- 2.2 6km NW of Mira Loma, CA
- 1.6 5km N of Lake Elsinore, CA
- 1.5 3km E of Fontana, CA
- 1.6 6km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.5 3km NNW of Fontana, CA
- 2.6 1km N of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.6 7km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.5 12km SSW of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 2.0 3km NNW of Fontana, CA
- 1.5 9km S of Banning, CA
- 1.5 9km N of Banning, CA
- 2.1 4km NE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.9 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.8 4km NNW of Wrightwood, 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.