Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Barstow, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 6:21 am PST (14:21 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Barstow, CA, at 4:43 pm PST on 3 December 2025 (00:43 UTC), 2.4 km deep.
USGS: 35 km ENE of Boron, CA
- When
- 4:43 pm PST on 3 December 2025 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Bernardino County, 107 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Harper fault, 3 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 344 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 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 37 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4.6 on 2020-01-25 — about 34,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 48 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 35.1383, -117.2992. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 137 km (85 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
17 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.6 5 km NW of Boron, CA
- 1.6 5 km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 5 km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.9 5 km NNW of Boron, CA
- 2.2 18 km SW of Barstow, CA
- 1.6 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.7 5 km NNW of Boron, CA
- 1.7 25 km SSE of Trona, CA
- 2.0 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.9 25 km SSE of Trona, CA
- 1.8 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
- 1.8 25 km SSE of Trona, CA
- 2.0 15 km NNE of Barstow, CA
- 1.7 5 km NNW of Boron, 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.