QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near Cabazon, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Cabazon in the 24 hours to 7:03 am PST (15:03 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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) north of Cabazon, CA, at 5:39 pm PST on 19 November 2021 (01:39 UTC), 12 km deep. 119 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km N of Cabazon, CA

20 km (13 mi) NE of Beaumont, CA · 150 km (93 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

5:39 pm PST, Nov 19, 2021 · · 12 km deep · released about 1,700 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 78 kmOrange County 98 kmSan Diego County 108 kmSan Bernardino County 111 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
5:39 pm PST on 19 November 2021 ()
Where
9 km (5 mi) north of Cabazon, CA · earthquakes near Cabazon
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
119 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Riverside County, 78 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 5 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 1748 days ago

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 43 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Cabazon, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Banning 11 km, intensity III · Beaumont 19 km, intensity II · Morongo Valley 20 km, intensity II · Yucaipa 24 km, intensity II · Desert Hot Springs 26 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 28 km, intensity II · Palm Springs 29 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.8× 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 95 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 37 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 40 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 31 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 23 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 44 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 33.9943, -116.7872. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 78 km (49 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 98 km (61 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 111 km (69 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

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

  1. 1.6 1km W of Yucaipa, CA
  2. 1.6 10km NNE of Banning, CA
  3. 1.7 7km NNE of Beaumont, CA
  4. 2.1 6km NNE of Anza, CA
  5. 1.9 13km WNW of Anza, CA
  6. 1.7 3km ENE of Moreno Valley, CA
  7. 1.5 2km S of Valle Vista, CA
  8. 3.0 2km SSW of Valle Vista, CA
  9. 2.2 13km WNW of Anza, CA
  10. 1.7 2km NNW of Loma Linda, CA
  11. 2.5 11km E of Big Bear City, CA
  12. 2.4 10km NNW of Idyllwild, CA
  13. 3.5 10km NNW of Idyllwild, CA
  14. 1.6 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  15. 1.6 6km SW 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.