Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Yucca Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Yucca Valley in the 24 hours to 11:58 am PST (19:58 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 18 km (11 mi) SE, at 9:51 am PDT on 1 August 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Yucca Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) north of Yucca Valley, CA, at 8:19 pm PDT on 2 August 2021 (03:19 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 40km SW of Ludlow, CA
- When
- 8:19 pm PDT on 2 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) north of Yucca Valley, CA · earthquakes near Yucca Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 49 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Camp Rock-Emerson-Copper Mountain 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 1927 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Yucca Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Yucca Valley, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Yucca Valley, 45 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 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 4.3 on 2016-02-20 — about 16,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 36 km SSE of this epicentre
- 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 25 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 45 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.8 3km NE of Yucca Valley, California · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 28 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 34.5148, -116.5195. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 49 km (30 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Riverside County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 149 km (92 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 10km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 1.5 16km NNE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.5 26km WNW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.6 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.0 18km NNW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.5 18km SW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.7 16km NNW of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 1.7 18km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.5 11km E of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 8km N of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.1 8km N of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.9 10km S of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.6 3km WSW of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.9 36km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.0 19km N of Twentynine Palms, 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.