Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Idyllwild, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Idyllwild in the 24 hours to 8:05 am PST (16:05 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Idyllwild, CA, at 2:14 pm PDT on 3 May 2023 (21:14 UTC), 17 km deep. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km SW of Idyllwild, CA
21 km (13 mi) E of Hemet, CA · 105 km (65 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 2:14 pm PDT on 3 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Idyllwild, CA · earthquakes near Idyllwild
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 71 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, 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 1216 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 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Idyllwild, 6 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: Idyllwild 6 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 12 km, intensity II · Hemet 19 km, intensity II · Anza 19 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 19 km, intensity II · Palm Springs 25 km, intensity II · Banning 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 630 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 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 2,900 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 19 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 36 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 42 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 15 km W 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 33.7063, -116.7725. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | E | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 76 km (47 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Orange County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | W | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 5km N of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.5 2km ESE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.7 4km NE of Moreno Valley, CA
- 1.6 2km NE of San Jacinto, CA
- 1.8 3km NW of Cabazon, CA
- 2.6 5km NE of Beaumont, CA
- 1.7 8km NNW of Cabazon, CA
- 1.9 7km SSW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.5 7km SSW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.9 7km SSW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.6 23km ESE of Anza, CA
- 2.2 4km E of Yucaipa, CA
- 1.5 13km NNE of Banning, CA
- 1.5 9km NNE of Cabazon, CA
- 2.4 10km WNW of Garnet, 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.