QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Barstow, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 4:03 am PST (12:03 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) east of Barstow, CA, at 9:34 pm PST on 19 November 2021 (05:34 UTC), 2.8 km deep.

USGS: 39km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA

9:34 pm PST, Nov 19, 2021 · · 2.8 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barstow Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 35 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
9:34 pm PST on 19 November 2021 ()
Where
43 km (27 mi) east of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
2.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 35 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Manix fault, 6 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 1817 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 43 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 4.6 on 2020-01-25 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 7 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 37 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 21km SW of Ludlow, California · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 38km SW of Ludlow, CA · 46 km S 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 34.9268, -116.5512. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 35 km (21 mi) ESE 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. 2.5 34km NE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  2. 2.6 21km NW of Ludlow, CA
  3. 1.5 29km WNW of Ludlow, CA
  4. 1.8 23km NW of Ludlow, CA
  5. 2.2 21km NW of Ludlow, CA
  6. 1.8 6km SSE of Barstow, CA
  7. 1.9 22km SSE of Fort Irwin, CA
  8. 2.3 13km NNE of Barstow, CA
  9. 2.3 23km NW of Ludlow, CA
  10. 2.1 21km SSW of Ludlow, CA
  11. 3.0 17km NNE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  12. 2.3 38km WSW of Ludlow, CA
  13. 1.7 24km SE of Fort Irwin, CA
  14. 2.1 18km WSW of Ludlow, CA
  15. 1.6 40km NE of Big Bear City, 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.