Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 11:27 am PST (19:27 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Idyllwild, CA, at 8:11 pm PDT on 17 October 2020 (03:11 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
21 km (13 mi) E of Hemet, CA · 105 km (65 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 8:11 pm PDT on 17 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 71 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, under 1 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 2214 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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Idyllwild, 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: Idyllwild 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 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 42,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 36 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 42 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 15 km W 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 33.7085, -116.7708. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 10km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 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
- 1.9 7km W of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.6 24km SSW of La Quinta, CA
- 1.5 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.6 16km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.9 10km E of Pala, CA
- 2.1 7km S of Redlands, CA
- 2.6 7km SSE of Redlands, 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
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.