QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Big Bear City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear City in the 24 hours to 4:34 am PST (12:34 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:11 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Bear City

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Big Bear City, CA, at 6:12 am PST on 27 November 2021 (14:12 UTC), 7.6 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9km ESE of Big Bear City, CA

67 km (42 mi) ENE of Riverside, CA · 35 km (21 mi) NE of Yucaipa, CA

6:12 am PST, Nov 27, 2021 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 220 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 87 kmRiverside County 89 kmOrange County 113 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
6:12 am PST on 27 November 2021 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Big Bear City, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear City
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 87 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Helendale-South Lockhart fault, 4 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 1741 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear City, 9 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: Big Bear City 9 km, intensity II · Big Bear Lake 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 220 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 70,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 50,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 220 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 4.5 on 2018-05-08 — about 760 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 36 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 29 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 8 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 49 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 50 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 47 km SE 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 34.2285, -116.7508. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 87 km (54 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Riverside County, CA 89 km (55 mi) SE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 113 km (70 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange 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. 1.6 10km NE of Lake Arrowhead, CA
  2. 1.5 3km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  3. 1.6 4km NE of Banning, CA
  4. 2.0 7km NE of Lake Arrowhead, CA
  5. 1.8 5km ENE of Beaumont, CA
  6. 1.7 10km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  7. 1.7 10km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  8. 2.6 2km S of Redlands, CA
  9. 1.5 4km SSW of Redlands, CA
  10. 1.6 39km NE of Big Bear City, CA
  11. 2.0 18km NNW of Morongo Valley, CA
  12. 1.5 9km NNE of Banning, CA
  13. 1.6 3km E of Yucaipa, CA
  14. 1.7 5km N of Cabazon, CA
  15. 2.0 10km NNW 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.