QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Big Bear City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear City in the 24 hours to 8:35 am PST (16:35 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 10 km (6 mi) ESE, at 12:11 pm PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Bear City

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Big Bear City, CA, at 9:28 pm PDT on 18 March 2023 (04:28 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 17km ENE of Big Bear City, CA

79 km (49 mi) NE of Riverside, CA · 47 km (29 mi) NE of Yucaipa, CA

9:28 pm PDT, Mar 18, 2023 · · 0.9 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 74 kmRiverside County 92 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
9:28 pm PDT on 18 March 2023 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) east-northeast of Big Bear City, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear City
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 74 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
North Frontal thrust system, 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 1332 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear City, 17 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 City 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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 3,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 37 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 27 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 48 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 20 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 38 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 3km NE of Yucca Valley, California · 34 km SE 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 34.3370, -116.6825. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 74 km (46 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Riverside County, CA 92 km (57 mi) SE earthquakes near Riverside County
Orange County, CA 125 km (78 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 8km ESE of Yucaipa, CA
  2. 1.8 10km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  3. 1.6 13km NNE of Banning, CA
  4. 2.7 26km SSW of Ludlow, CA
  5. 1.5 2km ESE of Cabazon, CA
  6. 1.8 3km NW of Cabazon, CA
  7. 2.6 5km NE of Beaumont, CA
  8. 1.7 8km NNW of Cabazon, CA
  9. 1.9 7km SSW of Morongo Valley, CA
  10. 1.5 7km SSW of Morongo Valley, CA
  11. 1.9 7km SSW of Morongo Valley, CA
  12. 1.9 9km SSW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  13. 2.2 4km E of Yucaipa, CA
  14. 1.5 13km NNE of Banning, CA
  15. 1.5 9km NNE of Cabazon, 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.