QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Beaumont, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Beaumont in the 24 hours to 5:24 am PST (13:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 14 km (8 mi) S, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Beaumont

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Beaumont, CA, at 9:32 pm PDT on 23 May 2026 (04:32 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Beaumont, CA

9 km (6 mi) ESE of Yucaipa, CA · 135 km (84 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA

9:32 pm PDT, May 23, 2026 · · 17 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 85 kmRiverside County 93 kmSan Diego County 110 kmSan Bernardino County 118 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
9:32 pm PDT on 23 May 2026 ()
Where
9 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Beaumont, CA · earthquakes near Beaumont
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 85 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 2 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 170 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Beaumont, 9 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Cherry Valley, Yucaipa, Calimesa, Banning, Cabazon, Mentone.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 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 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 10,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 27 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 25 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 31 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 7km ENE of Running Springs, CA · 28 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 34.0042, -116.9490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 85 km (53 mi) WSW earthquakes near Orange County
Riverside County, CA 93 km (58 mi) ESE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 110 km (68 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 118 km (73 mi) NE earthquakes near San Bernardino County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 8 km SE of Valle Vista, CA
  2. 1.9 17 km NW of Morongo Valley, CA
  3. 1.6 7 km S of Redlands, CA
  4. 1.6 6 km SSE of Big Bear Lake, CA
  5. 1.6 10 km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  6. 1.8 10 km NNW of Banning, CA
  7. 2.2 6 km NNW of Beaumont, CA
  8. 1.7 2 km NW of Banning, CA
  9. 1.6 4 km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  10. 1.8 8 km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  11. 1.7 8 km WNW of Big Bear Lake, CA
  12. 1.5 5 km SE of Big Bear Lake, CA
  13. 1.8 11 km NNW of Anza, CA
  14. 2.0 3 km ENE of Running Springs, CA
  15. 1.5 3 km ENE of Running Springs, 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.