Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Cabazon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cabazon in the 24 hours to 12:21 pm PST (20:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 20 km (13 mi) SW, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cabazon
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded in Cabazon, CA, at 5:33 pm PDT on 8 April 2021 (00:33 UTC), 15 km deep. 68 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km N of Cabazon, CA
16 km (10 mi) ENE of Beaumont, CA · 128 km (80 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 5:33 pm PDT on 8 April 2021 ()
- Where
- in Cabazon, CA · earthquakes near Cabazon
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 68 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 76 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Gorgonio Pass fault, 2 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 1972 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cabazon, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cabazon, 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 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 40 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Banning 8 km, intensity III · Beaumont 18 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 22 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 23 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 23 km, intensity II · Morongo Valley 23 km, intensity II · Palm Springs 25 km, intensity II · Yucaipa 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 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 240,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,700× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× more
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 4.5 on 2018-05-08 — about 120 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 36 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 44 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 25 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 30 km N of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 43 km E 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 33.9323, -116.7873. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 101 km (63 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 117 km (73 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
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 4km ENE of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.1 10km NNE of Banning, CA
- 1.6 9km SW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.5 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.8 5km E of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.6 6km W of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2.1 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.7 4km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.6 7km E of Cabazon, CA
- 1.9 16km NE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 3.0 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.6 10km SSE of Yucca Valley, CA
- 2.2 17km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.7 16km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.9 17km N of Yucca 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.