QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Adelanto, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Adelanto in the 24 hours to 7:24 am PST (15:24 UTC). The last one was M 4.3, 89 km (55 mi) NNW, at 9:40 am PDT on 13 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Adelanto

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 quarry blast was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Adelanto, CA, at 1:09 pm PDT on 4 November 2022 (20:09 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 10km ENE of Adelanto, CA

12 km (8 mi) NNE of Victorville, CA · 122 km (76 mi) NE of Los Angeles, CA

1:09 pm PDT, Nov 4, 2022 · · -1.3 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 100 kmSan Bernardino County 106 kmOrange County 115 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
1:09 pm PDT on 4 November 2022 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Adelanto, CA · earthquakes near Adelanto
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-1.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 100 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Helendale-South Lockhart fault, 11 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 1469 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Adelanto, 10 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: Victorville, Silver Lakes, Spring Valley Lake, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Oak Hills.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 10km NNW of Big Bear City, California · 50 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 10km SE of Lucerne Valley, California · 48 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 3km W of Lytle Creek, CA · 47 km SSW 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 34.6312, -117.3118. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 100 km (62 mi) WSW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Bernardino County, CA 106 km (66 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Orange County, CA 115 km (71 mi) SSW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 157 km (97 mi) SE earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 3km W of Devore, CA
  2. 1.7 2km SE of Wrightwood, CA
  3. 1.9 9km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  4. 1.5 2km WSW of Devore, CA
  5. 1.7 12km NE of Running Springs, CA
  6. 1.6 10km W of Big Bear Lake, CA
  7. 1.8 13km NE of Running Springs, CA
  8. 1.8 6km SSE of Barstow, CA
  9. 1.5 12km NE of Adelanto, CA
  10. 2.1 4km WNW of Devore, CA
  11. 1.8 10km SSE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  12. 1.8 11km SSE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  13. 2.1 10km SSE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  14. 2.3 10km SSE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  15. 1.9 11km SSE of Lucerne Valley, 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.