QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4ml

Earthquake near Redlands, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Redlands in the 24 hours to 6:15 am PST (14:15 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (5 mi) SSE, at 10:33 pm PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Redlands

This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Redlands, CA, at 11:27 am PST on 31 December 2021 (19:27 UTC), 14 km deep. 509 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3km SW of Redlands, CA

in Redlands, CA · 111 km (69 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

11:27 am PST, Dec 31, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 1.8 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 66 kmLos Angeles County 99 kmRiverside County 116 kmSan Diego County 119 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
11:27 am PST on 31 December 2021 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Redlands, CA · earthquakes near Redlands
Magnitude
M 3.4 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
509 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Orange County, 66 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Crafton Hills fault, 1 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 1516 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 55 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Redlands, 3 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: Redlands 3 km, intensity III · Loma Linda 5 km, intensity III · Mentone 8 km, intensity III · Highland 10 km, intensity III · Colton 11 km, intensity III · Moreno Valley 11 km, intensity III · San Bernardino 11 km, intensity III · Yucaipa 15 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,300× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.8 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.7× 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 46 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 37 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 8 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 41 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 28 km NE 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 34.0347, -117.2080. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 99 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Riverside County, CA 116 km (72 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 119 km (74 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 131 km (82 mi) NE 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. 1.5 3km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  2. 1.6 4km NE of Banning, CA
  3. 2.0 7km NE of Lake Arrowhead, CA
  4. 1.8 5km ENE of Beaumont, CA
  5. 1.8 2km WNW of Valle Vista, 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 2km NNW of Fontana, CA
  11. 1.5 2km E of Home Gardens, CA
  12. 1.5 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  13. 1.7 6km WNW of Fontana, CA
  14. 1.5 9km NNE of Banning, CA
  15. 1.6 3km E of Yucaipa, 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.