Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 6:33 am PST (14:33 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 1:04 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 58 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Idyllwild
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) northeast of Idyllwild, CA, at 4:29 pm PDT on 6 October 2020 (23:29 UTC), 15 km deep. 171 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8km NE of Idyllwild, CA
19 km (12 mi) WSW of Cathedral City, CA · 117 km (73 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 4:29 pm PDT on 6 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) northeast of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 171 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 61 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, 12 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 1764 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Idyllwild, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Idyllwild, 8 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: Idyllwild 8 km, intensity II · Palm Springs 11 km, intensity II · Cathedral City 18 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 22 km, intensity II · Desert Hot Springs 24 km, intensity II · Thousand Palms 25 km, intensity II · Banning 25 km, intensity II · Anza 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 2,500 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 30 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 50 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 29 km W of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 37 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 37 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 33.7885, -116.6553. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 126 km (79 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 2.8 7km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.7 12km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
- 1.9 12km WSW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.6 24km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 1.5 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.6 16km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.5 18km N of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.0 13km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.7 13km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 3.5 13km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 2.2 12km N of Indio, CA
- 1.6 16km NE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 1.6 12km E of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.5 24km ESE of Anza, 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.