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The earthquake was centered about 2 miles northwest of the junction of Interstate 15 and 215 and just across the railroad tracks from Devore, beneath Lytle Creek Ridge (See a TopoZone Map). The focal depth was placed at 6.7 km (4.2 miles) and Caltech is reporting a focal mechanism of strike-slip but we do not have a solution as of yet. This location suggests the quake occurred along the northern trace of the San Jacinto Fault or one of its many splays in the Cajon Canyon area. It is close to where the San Jacinto Fault merges with the San Andreas fault.

There were no relevant foreshocks and thus far, only one small M1.8 aftershock was recorded at about 2.5 minutes after the main jolt.

Preliminary reports indicate the quake was widely felt in the Inland Empire and as far away as the coast. There are some unconfirmed reports of light items (picture frames, books, etc.) toppling from tables and shelves. Residents in the area said that they heard a loud noise followed by moderate, but brief shaking. Hanging plants swung, windows rattled and dishware jiggled. Most said it was over almost as quickly as it started.

Did you feel this earthquake? Tell us what you felt.

Extraordinary about this event was it was the first quake to register in Southern California since April 25 - a gap of 19 days. This is the longest gap between M3+ events for this region in more than 10 years. The last M4+ quake in Southern California was the Big Bear M5.1 earthquake on February 10 - 15 weeks ago - also an unusually long gap between events. Last year there was a 22-week M4+ gap which broke was the third longest in Southern California in nearly 70 years of detailed earthquake monitoring of the region.

In case you forgot, the last M6+ jolt in Southern California was the M7.1 Lavic Lake (Hector Mine) earthquake on October 16, 1999.

Additional Seismic information links:

• Recent Earthquakes Page, San Bernardino, USGS

Seismograms of the Cajon Canyon earthquake from nearby stations:

• .

News Reports:

• None at this time.

Report update: 11:25 a.m., Monday, May 14, 2001