QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Big Bear Lake, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Bear Lake in the 24 hours to 4:59 am PST (12:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 7 km (4 mi) NE, at 1:40 am PDT on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 18 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Big Bear Lake

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) southwest of Big Bear Lake, CA, at 7:57 am PDT on 18 August 2022 (14:57 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 12km SW of Big Bear Lake, CA

14 km (9 mi) NNE of Yucaipa, CA · 132 km (82 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

7:57 am PDT, Aug 18, 2022 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Big Bear Lake Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 90 kmRiverside County 103 kmSan Bernardino County 108 kmLos Angeles County 117 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
7:57 am PDT on 18 August 2022 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) southwest of Big Bear Lake, CA · earthquakes near Big Bear Lake
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 90 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 6 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 1547 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Bear Lake, 12 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 Lake 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 9,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 44 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 16 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 39 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 11 km NNW 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 34.1542, -116.9897. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 90 km (56 mi) SW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 103 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Bernardino County, CA 108 km (67 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Los Angeles County, CA 117 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Los Angeles 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.

  1. 2.1 3km WNW of Beaumont, CA
  2. 2.2 3km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  3. 2.5 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  4. 2.0 4km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  5. 2.2 5km SSW of Redlands, CA
  6. 1.6 10km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
  7. 1.9 4km SSW of Calimesa, CA
  8. 1.6 2km SSE of Loma Linda, CA
  9. 3.0 4km W of Banning, CA
  10. 2.1 8km NE of Cabazon, CA
  11. 1.9 11km SE of Lucerne Valley, CA
  12. 1.6 8km SSE of Big Bear City, CA
  13. 2.5 9km ENE of Yucaipa, CA
  14. 1.9 2km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  15. 1.8 12km SW of Big Bear Lake, 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.