Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Big Bear Lake, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear Lake in the 24 hours to 3:51 pm PST (23:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 7 km (4 mi) NE, at 1:40 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 18 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Big Bear Lake
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Big Bear Lake, CA, at 9:25 pm PST on 27 January 2022 (05:25 UTC), 4.5 km deep.
USGS: 13km NW of Big Bear Lake, CA
25 km (16 mi) NNE of Highland, CA · 131 km (82 mi) ENE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 9:25 pm PST on 27 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Big Bear Lake, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear Lake
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 98 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- North Frontal thrust system, 12 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 1749 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Big Bear Lake, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Big Bear Lake, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear Lake, 13 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 Lake 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 9,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 22 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 33 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 8 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 23 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.4 26km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA · 48 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 34.3122, -117.0280. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Orange County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | W | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Riverside County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 2km NW of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.8 6km ENE of Beaumont, CA
- 1.8 17km SE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.5 17km SE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.6 6km E of Calimesa, CA
- 1.6 2km NNW of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.5 2km S of Devore, CA
- 1.7 7km SSE of Redlands, CA
- 1.6 4km NE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.6 2km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.9 8km NNE of Banning, CA
- 1.5 6km NE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.5 10km N of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2.5 19km WNW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 2.8 7km S of Redlands, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.