Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Twentynine Palms, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Twentynine Palms in the 24 hours to 8:41 am PST (16:41 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 mi) SW, at 9:51 am PDT on 1 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Twentynine Palms
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) southeast of Twentynine Palms, CA, at 5:48 am PDT on 14 May 2021 (12:48 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 30km SE of Twentynine Palms, CA
43 km (27 mi) ENE of Indio, CA · 143 km (89 mi) E of Riverside, CA
- When
- 5:48 am PDT on 14 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) southeast of Twentynine Palms, CA · earthquakes near Twentynine Palms
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 28 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pinto Mountain fault (includes Morongo Valley fault), 17 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 1557 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Twentynine Palms, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Twentynine Palms, 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Twentynine Palms, 29 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 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 4.2 on 2019-07-22 — about 1,800 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 44 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 45 km W of this epicentre
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 15 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.7 2km SSW of Joshua Tree, California · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 16 km WNW 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 33.9400, -115.8452. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 28 km (17 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Imperial County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 134 km (83 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 14km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.5 20km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 1.8 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.6 8km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.4 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.0 5km ENE of North Shore, CA
- 2.0 13km NE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 1.9 15km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 1.6 20km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 2.7 20km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 1.5 12km ENE of Indio, CA
- 1.7 16km NNW of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 1.6 37km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 2.9 13km N of Indio, CA
- 1.7 17km NNE of Indio, 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.