QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Anza, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Anza in the 24 hours to 10:13 am PST (18:13 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 17 km (10 mi) S, at 10:44 pm PST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Anza

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northwest of Anza, CA, at 10:22 am PDT on 21 October 2021 (17:22 UTC), 15 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 10km NNW of Anza, CA

99 km (62 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 28 km (18 mi) ESE of Hemet, CA

10:22 am PDT, Oct 21, 2021 · · 15 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 67 kmSan Diego County 68 kmOrange County 98 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:22 am PDT on 21 October 2021 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) north-northwest of Anza, CA · earthquakes near Anza
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 67 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto 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 1848 days ago

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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Anza, 10 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: Anza 10 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 86,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 15,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 28 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 33 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 22 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 33.6335, -116.7170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 67 km (42 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 68 km (42 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 98 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

36 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 5km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  2. 1.9 17km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
  3. 2.2 5km ENE of Calimesa, CA
  4. 1.6 23km ESE of Anza, CA
  5. 2.3 3km SE of Lake Henshaw, CA
  6. 1.7 9km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  7. 1.7 12km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
  8. 1.9 11km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
  9. 1.6 8km WSW of Anza, CA
  10. 1.5 13km NNE of Thousand Palms, CA
  11. 2.2 8km S of Idyllwild, CA
  12. 1.9 9km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  13. 1.7 7km S of Idyllwild, CA
  14. 1.8 11km WSW of Morongo Valley, CA
  15. 1.9 10km S of Idyllwild, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.