--- title: An Earthquake Swarm Hit Southern California and Hardly Anyone Noticed description: More than 1,000 tiny earthquakes have rumbled through an area of Southern California for nearly a month. canonical: https://time.com/5610109/earthquake-swarm-southern-california/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-26T16:25:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:47:38.886Z article:section: Science og:title: 1,060 Earthquakes Have Hit Southern California in a Month and Hardly Anyone Noticed og:description: More than 1,000 tiny earthquakes have rumbled through an area of Southern California for nearly a month. og:url: https://time.com/5610109/earthquake-swarm-southern-california/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dc6e486a38d38c4/6989ff1909208fa234415268/screen-shot-2019-06-25-at-3.11.43-pm.png?branch=production&width=1108&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1108 og:image:height: 623 og:image:alt: earthquake swarm og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 1,060 Earthquakes Have Hit Southern California in a Month and Hardly Anyone Noticed twitter:description: More than 1,000 tiny earthquakes have rumbled through an area of Southern California for nearly a month. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dc6e486a38d38c4/6989ff1909208fa234415268/screen-shot-2019-06-25-at-3.11.43-pm.png?branch=production&width=1108&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 1,060 Earthquakes Have Hit Southern California in a Month and Hardly Anyone Noticed. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jun 26, 2019 4:25 PM UTC  This map shows the earthquake swarm in Southern California that took place between late May and mid-June. This map shows the earthquake swarm in Southern California that took place between late May and mid-June.Photo Courtesy of the United States Geological Survey by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jun 26, 2019 4:25 PM UTC More than 1,000 tiny earthquakes have rumbled through an area of Southern California for nearly a month––but few people actually noticed. “[Swarmageddon](https://ktla.com/2019/06/19/swarmageddon-more-than-1000-small-earthquakes-hit-i-e-over-3-week-period/),” as it’s been dubbed, started May 25 and lasted through at least June 19, according to the [Southern California Seismic Network,](http://www.scsn.org/index.php/2019/06/03/glen-avon-earthquake-swarm-5-25-2019/) a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Institute of Technology.It affected an area of San Bernardino and Riverside counties 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. At least 1,060 earthquakes were recorded, though none of them were stronger than magnitude 3.2, a blip in terms of Californian quakes. The vast majority were less than magnitude 2, meaning most people could not feel them. Jennifer Andrews, a seismologist at the Caltech’s Seismological Laboratory, tells TIME that, while earthquake swarms are “fairly common” in Southern California, the most recent swarm is getting attention because it occurred in a densely populated area. “I would say they’re common everywhere you get earthquakes, and often in volcanic areas,” she added. Andrews says that Californians should not consider the swarm as a warning sign of the so-called “big one” –– the next devastating earthquake that strikes fear into the hearts of many who live in the state. “There is no way to know if these swarms are predictors,” she says. California last braced itself for the “big one” in September 2016, when a swarm of more than 100 earthquakes hit Bombay Beach in Southern California. The quakes occurred near a set of cross-faults that connect to the San Andreas fault, which raised alarms because activity along that fault is considered especially dangerous. “The reason we pay close attention to swarms closer to the San Andreas fault is that it’s overdue for an earthquake, so whenever there is activity nearby it’s possible whatever is causing the swarms could move to San Andreas and trigger the ‘big one,'” says Andrews. California experiences an average of one magnitude 3 quake almost daily, with [26 in the last 30 days](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/#%7B%22feed%22%3A%221560959880626%22%2C%22sort%22%3A%22newest%22%2C%22basemap%22%3A%22grayscale%22%2C%22restrictListToMap%22%3A%5B%22restrictListToMap%22%5D%2C%22timezone%22%3A%22local%22%2C%22mapposition%22%3A%5B%5B31.87%2C-125.54%5D%2C%5B42.091%2C-113.367%5D%5D%2C%22overlays%22%3A%5B%22plates%22%5D%2C%22viewModes%22%3A%5B%22list%22%2C%22map%22%5D%2C%22listFormat%22%3A%22default%22%2C%22autoUpdate%22%3Afalse%2C%22search%22%3A%7B%22id%22%3A%221560959880626%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Search%20Results%22%2C%22isSearch%22%3Atrue%2C%22params%22%3A%7B%22starttime%22%3A%222019-05-20%2000%3A00%3A00%22%2C%22endtime%22%3A%222019-06-19%2023%3A59%3A59%22%2C%22maxlatitude%22%3A42.091%2C%22minlatitude%22%3A31.87%2C%22maxlongitude%22%3A-113.367%2C%22minlongitude%22%3A-125.54%2C%22minmagnitude%22%3A3%2C%22maxmagnitude%22%3A4%2C%22orderby%22%3A%22time%22%7D%7D%7D) alone. The last major earthquake in California was [1994’s Northridge](https://cnico.com/pgs/earthquake/earth3.aspx) earthquake, which affected Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. [The 6.7 magnitude earthquake](https://www.apnews.com/9ff84d752439468494aaf8916424522b) caused $25 billion in damage, killed 72 people and injured 9,000 more. Of the state’s 300 fault lines, pressure around the [San Andreas fault](http://www.sanandreasfault.org/Information.html), which runs nearly 800 miles long and near the highly populated cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, has built since the last catastrophic earthquake in [1906](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1906calif/18april/), which killed up to 3,000 people. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Great 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a 7.9-magnitude event, remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5610109/earthquake-swarm-southern-california/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5610109/earthquake-swarm-southern-california/"},"headline":"1,060 Earthquakes Have Hit Southern California in a Month and Hardly Anyone Noticed. 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