California earthquakes

M3.9 earthquake 6km SW of Joshua Tree, CA

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 6km SW of Joshua Tree, CA on Wed, May 22, 1940, 6:10 AM GMT-8 (14:10 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.0 14km S of Joshua Tree, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Joshua Tree forecastMore in California

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
3.9 (ml), minor
Local time
UTC
1940-05-22 14:10:08 UTC
Depth
6.0 km (3.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
34.104° N, 116.360° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 2.5 km horizontally, 31.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.13
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
296°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
4

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 49 in the 60 days after this one and 15 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.24km WSW of Mead Valley, CA · 31534 days ago · 6 km deep · 95 km away
  2. 3.34km S of Redlands, CA · 31534 days ago · 6 km deep · 76 km away
  3. 3.26km S of Yucca Valley, CA · 31532 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  4. 4.014km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31530 days ago · 6 km deep · 10 km away
  5. 3.36km SSW of Rancho Mirage, CA · 31529 days ago · 6 km deep · 47 km away
  6. 3.29km SSE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31529 days ago · 6 km deep · 7 km away
  7. 4.65km SE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31525 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  8. 4.08km E of Joshua Tree, CA · 31525 days ago · 6 km deep · 13 km away
  9. 4.49km ENE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31525 days ago · 6 km deep · 14 km away
  10. 3.010km SSE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31525 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  11. 4.49km SSE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31524 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  12. 3.510km NE of Thermal, CA · 31522 days ago · 6 km deep · 52 km away
  13. 3.51km SE of Mead Valley, CA · 31521 days ago · 14 km deep · 91 km away
  14. 2.87km SW of Palm Desert, CA · 31521 days ago · 6 km deep · 49 km away
  15. 3.213km SE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31520 days ago · 6 km deep · 10 km away
  16. 3.113km SE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 10 km away
  17. 4.211km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 15 km away
  18. 4.09km SW of Borrego Springs, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 100 km away
  19. 3.69km N of Yucca Valley, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 12 km away
  20. 4.315km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 15 km away
  21. 3.32km NNE of Rancho Mirage, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 39 km away
  22. 3.04km NNE of Palm Desert, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 38 km away
  23. 3.03km NNE of Palm Desert, CA · 31519 days ago · 6 km deep · 39 km away
  24. 3.611km SSW of Joshua Tree, CA · 31518 days ago · 6 km deep · 7 km away
  25. 3.516km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31518 days ago · 6 km deep · 13 km away
  26. 3.910km SE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31517 days ago · 6 km deep · 5 km away
  27. 3.14km NNE of Cathedral City, CA · 31515 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  28. 2.912km SE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31514 days ago · 6 km deep · 14 km away
  29. 4.311km SSW of Joshua Tree, CA · 31514 days ago · 6 km deep · 7 km away
  30. 3.212km SSE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31514 days ago · 6 km deep · 10 km away
  31. 3.02km WNW of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31512 days ago · 6 km deep · 21 km away
  32. 2.98km ESE of Thousand Palms, CA · 31512 days ago · 6 km deep · 33 km away
  33. 3.45km SSW of Yucca Valley, CA · 31512 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  34. 3.86km SSW of Joshua Tree, CA · 31511 days ago · 6 km deep · 2 km away
  35. 2.615km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31510 days ago · 6 km deep · 13 km away
  36. 2.910km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31510 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  37. 2.61km NNW of La Quinta, CA · 31508 days ago · 6 km deep · 48 km away
  38. 3.911km ESE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31508 days ago · 6 km deep · 14 km away
  39. 3.216km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31507 days ago · 6 km deep · 16 km away
  40. 3.112km NNE of Warner Springs, CA · 31506 days ago · 6 km deep · 83 km away
  41. 3.011km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31506 days ago · 6 km deep · 16 km away
  42. 2.914km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31503 days ago · 6 km deep · 15 km away
  43. 3.711km WSW of Twentynine Palms, CA · 31503 days ago · 6 km deep · 17 km away
  44. 3.94km ESE of Morongo Valley, CA · 31501 days ago · 6 km deep · 19 km away
  45. 2.613km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31498 days ago · 6 km deep · 12 km away
  46. 3.111km NNE of Lake Henshaw, CA · 31498 days ago · 0 km deep · 92 km away
  47. 3.07km WNW of Garnet, CA · 31497 days ago · 6 km deep · 31 km away
  48. 2.92km SSW of Palm Desert, CA · 31494 days ago · 6 km deep · 44 km away
  49. 3.60km ENE of Colton, CA · 31489 days ago · 12 km deep · 87 km away

Before

  1. 3.714km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31535 days ago · 6 km deep · 14 km away
  2. 3.311km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31535 days ago · 6 km deep · 8 km away
  3. 3.310km SSE of Yucca Valley, CA · 31535 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  4. 4.35km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31537 days ago · 6 km deep · 5 km away
  5. 4.012km SSW of Joshua Tree, CA · 31538 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  6. 3.612km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31538 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  7. 4.010km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31538 days ago · 6 km deep · 15 km away
  8. 4.310km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31538 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  9. 4.214km ENE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 31539 days ago · 6 km deep · 12 km away
  10. 5.012km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31539 days ago · 6 km deep · 10 km away
  11. 4.511km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31539 days ago · 6 km deep · 11 km away
  12. 5.211km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31539 days ago · 6 km deep · 9 km away
  13. 5.36km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA · 31539 days ago · 6 km deep · 7 km away
  14. 3.68km NNE of Indio, CA · 31546 days ago · 6 km deep · 39 km away
  15. 3.115km S of Joshua Tree, CA · 31549 days ago · 6 km deep · 12 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci3365310. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 1:58 AM UTC.