California earthquakes

M2.9 earthquake 9km NW of Morongo Valley, CA

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 9km NW of Morongo Valley, CA on Wed, Jul 3, 2002, 11:55 AM PDT (18:55 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.7 7km SSW of Devore, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Morongo Valley 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
2.9 (ML, local (Richter)), micro
Magnitude from
Southern California Seismic Network
Local time
UTC
2002-07-03 18:55:40 UTC
Depth
7.9 km (4.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
34.100° N, 116.649° W
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
2.94ML, local (Richter)Southern California Seismic NetworkPreferred · Final · ±0.211 · 78 stations
2.9ML, local (Richter)USGS National Earthquake Information CenterReviewed

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt at Big Bear City.

From the USGS event page for ci9797145. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

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 0.2 km horizontally, 1.5 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.21
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
28°
Stations used
69

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 160 in the 60 days after this one and 125 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 160.

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci9797145 (also filed as usp000b7e4). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 2:35 AM UTC.