quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Adelanto, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Adelanto in the 24 hours to 4:29 am PST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 89 km (55 mi) NNW, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Adelanto
No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 quarry blast was recorded 10 km (7 mi) east-northeast of Adelanto, CA, at 9:54 am PDT on 21 July 2023 (16:54 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 10 km ENE of Adelanto, CA
12 km (8 mi) NNE of Victorville, CA · 122 km (76 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 9:54 am PDT on 21 July 2023 ()
- Where
- 10 km (7 mi) east-northeast of Adelanto, CA · earthquakes near Adelanto
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 100 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Helendale-South Lockhart fault, 11 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 1203 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Adelanto, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Adelanto, 10 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Victorville, Silver Lakes, Spring Valley Lake, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Oak Hills.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 10km NNW of Big Bear City, California · 50 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 10km SE of Lucerne Valley, California · 48 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.2 3km W of Lytle Creek, CA · 47 km SSW 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 34.6308, -117.3108. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Orange County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 157 km (97 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
14 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 2 km WSW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 4.2 1 km W of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.9 4 km SE of Lytle Creek, CA
- 2.3 5 km ESE of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.8 13 km NW of Barstow, CA
- 2.7 12 km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.7 6 km ENE of Barstow, CA
- 1.5 10 km NE of Running Springs, CA
- 2.5 3 km E of Devore, CA
- 2.3 5 km WNW of Lytle Creek, CA
- 1.6 6 km NE of Muscoy, CA
- 1.6 11 km ENE of Adelanto, CA
- 1.5 18 km NW of Barstow, CA
- 2.1 14 km SSW of Boron, 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.