Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 12:16 pm PST (20:16 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 1:04 am PDT on 11 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 58 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Idyllwild
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Idyllwild, CA, at 8:10 pm PDT on 3 September 2021 (03:10 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km WNW of Idyllwild, CA
22 km (14 mi) E of Hemet, CA · 110 km (68 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 8:10 pm PDT on 3 September 2021 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 70 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto 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 1891 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Idyllwild, CA
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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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Idyllwild, 4 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Idyllwild-Pine Cove, Valle Vista, East Hemet, Cabazon, San Jacinto, Hemet.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 200,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 20 km W of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 46 km N 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 33.7520, -116.7597. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 94 km (59 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 5km N of Moreno Valley, CA
- 2.4 7km S of Redlands, CA
- 1.9 14km S of Joshua Tree, CA
- 2.0 10km E of Pala, CA
- 2.0 10km W of Palomar Observatory, CA
- 1.7 6km NW of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.6 9km SW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 2.1 11km NE of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.7 21km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.8 8km ENE of Moreno Valley, CA
- 1.9 7km NNW of Cabazon, CA
- 2.2 16km ENE of Yucaipa, CA
- 2.1 9km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 2.0 6km SW of Banning, CA
- 1.9 9km NNW of Anza, 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.