QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Valle Vista, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Valle Vista in the 24 hours to 1:02 pm PST (21:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 9 km (6 mi) NW, at 8:52 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Valle Vista

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) south-southwest of Valle Vista, CA, at 8:26 pm PST on 19 January 2022 (04:26 UTC), 3.9 km deep. 260 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km SSW of Valle Vista, CA

9 km (6 mi) E of Hemet, CA · 143 km (89 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

8:26 pm PST, Jan 19, 2022 · · 3.9 km deep · released about 860 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Valle Vista Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 79 kmOrange County 82 kmRiverside County 83 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
8:26 pm PST on 19 January 2022 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) south-southwest of Valle Vista, CA · earthquakes near Valle Vista
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
3.9 km below the surface
Felt
260 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
San Diego County, 79 km S
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, under 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 1686 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Valle Vista, 2 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: Valle Vista 2 km, intensity III · Hemet 7 km, intensity III · San Jacinto 8 km, intensity III · Idyllwild 17 km, intensity III · Banning 22 km, intensity II · Menifee 23 km, intensity II · Beaumont 23 km, intensity II · Anza 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 860 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 860 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 4.9 on 2020-04-04 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 8 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 47 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 40 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 48 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 48 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 33.7298, -116.8985. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 82 km (51 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 83 km (52 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 4km SE of Redlands, CA
  2. 1.8 4km SE of Redlands, CA
  3. 1.9 4km S of Idyllwild, CA
  4. 1.5 4km S of Idyllwild, CA
  5. 1.6 5km NE of Beaumont, CA
  6. 1.5 4km SE of Redlands, CA
  7. 1.5 4km ENE of Beaumont, CA
  8. 2.1 1km ENE of Yucaipa, CA
  9. 2.0 16km ESE of Anza, CA
  10. 2.3 8km NE of Cabazon, CA
  11. 2.1 5km SW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  12. 1.5 3km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  13. 1.6 4km NE of Banning, CA
  14. 1.8 5km ENE of Beaumont, CA
  15. 1.8 2km WNW of Valle Vista, 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.