Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Barstow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 6:37 am PST (14:37 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Barstow, CA, at 11:54 am PDT on 29 April 2021 (18:54 UTC), 7.1 km deep.
USGS: 6km SW of Barstow, CA
46 km (28 mi) NE of Victorville, CA · 39 km (24 mi) NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- When
- 11:54 am PDT on 29 April 2021 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 81 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mt. General fault, 3 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 2023 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 6 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: Barstow Heights in town, intensity II · Barstow 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 5.6 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 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 46,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 26 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.1 46 km E of Barstow, California · 50 km E of this epicentre
- 5.0 27km S of Fort Irwin, CA · 36 km ENE 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 34.8615, -117.0653. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 132 km (82 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 13km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 3.0 17km NNE of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 1.7 11km NE of Boron, CA
- 1.5 10km ENE of Adelanto, CA
- 2.3 11km NE of Boron, CA
- 1.8 11km NE of Boron, CA
- 2.1 9km NW of Adelanto, CA
- 2.2 8km ENE of Barstow, CA
- 2.3 37km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 2.1 10km E of Barstow, CA
- 1.7 16km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.8 32km SE of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.9 37km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 1.6 20km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 13km NNE 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.