Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Barstow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 6:04 am PST (14:04 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Barstow, CA, at 4:20 pm PDT on 14 September 2024 (23:20 UTC), 7.2 km deep.
USGS: 18 km NNW of Barstow, CA
59 km (37 mi) NNE of Apple Valley, CA · 127 km (79 mi) NNE of Riverside, CA
- When
- 4:20 pm PDT on 14 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 84 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Blackwater fault, 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 721 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Barstow, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Barstow, 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 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 18 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: Barstow 18 km, intensity II · Barstow Heights 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 220 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 68,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 48,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 220 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 4.9 on 2024-07-29 — about 2,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 50 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 25 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.0 27km S of Fort Irwin, CA · 32 km E 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 35.0513, -117.0708. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 145 km (90 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 16 km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 35 km ENE of Boron, CA
- 2.0 21 km N of Barstow, CA
- 2.4 21 km N of Barstow, CA
- 2.3 15 km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 16 km N of Barstow, CA
- 2.0 16 km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.9 15 km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.5 30 km ESE of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.7 12 km NE of Barstow, CA
- 2.5 22 km NNW of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 18 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- 1.5 17 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
- 3.2 14 km S of Fort Irwin, CA
- 1.8 15 km NE of Barstow, 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.