QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near Barstow Heights, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow Heights in the 24 hours to 8:02 pm PST (04:02 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 6 km (4 mi) NNE, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow Heights

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) northwest of Barstow Heights, CA, at 2:57 pm PDT on 20 April 2026 (21:57 UTC), 5.3 km deep.

USGS: 33 km SE of Johannesburg, CA

2:57 pm PDT, Apr 20, 2026 · · 5.3 km deep · released about 1,800 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barstow Heights Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 114 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
2:57 pm PDT on 20 April 2026 ()
Where
44 km (28 mi) northwest of Barstow Heights, CA · earthquakes near Barstow Heights
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 114 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Harper 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 133 days ago

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 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow Heights, 44 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: Boron 33 km, intensity II · Barstow 44 km, intensity II · Barstow Heights 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× more

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 5.5 on 2020-06-04 — about 3,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 35.1785, -117.3670. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 114 km (71 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Los Angeles County, CA 136 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

60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.8 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  2. 1.7 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  3. 4.1 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  4. 1.6 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  5. 1.7 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  6. 2.0 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  7. 1.9 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  8. 1.9 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  9. 2.1 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  10. 1.7 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  11. 1.9 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  12. 3.2 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  13. 1.5 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  14. 1.6 17 km WSW of Johannesburg, CA
  15. 3.4 18 km WSW of Johannesburg, 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.