Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Joshua Tree, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Joshua Tree in the 24 hours to 9:02 am PST (17:02 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 17 km (11 mi) S, at 9:51 am PDT on 1 August 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 46 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Joshua Tree
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north of Joshua Tree, CA, at 4:25 pm PDT on 23 June 2022 (23:25 UTC), 8.0 km deep.
USGS: 20km SSW of Ludlow, CA
- When
- 4:25 pm PDT on 23 June 2022 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) north of Joshua Tree, CA · earthquakes near Joshua Tree
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 33 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Lavic Lake fault, 5 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 1603 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Joshua Tree, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Joshua Tree, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Joshua Tree, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2016-02-20 — about 14,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
- 7.1 The 1999 Hector Mine, California Earthquake · 4 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 13km WSW of Ludlow, CA · 12 km N of this epicentre
- 5.7 2km SSW of Joshua Tree, California · 50 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 17km WSW of Amboy, CA · 33 km ESE 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 34.5675, -116.2712. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 33 km (21 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Riverside County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 14km WSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.6 24km NNE of Joshua Tree, CA
- 2.7 26km SSW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.8 5km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 2.6 28km NNW of Yucca Valley, CA
- 1.8 13km W of Ludlow, CA
- 1.6 14km SW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.4 23km NW of Ludlow, CA
- 1.8 18km SW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.0 20km ENE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.5 37km NE of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.5 34km NE of Lucerne Valley, CA
- 1.7 32km N of Yucca Valley, CA
- 2.6 21km NW of Ludlow, CA
- 2.1 17km ENE of Big Bear City, 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.