QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near La Quinta, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in La Quinta in the 24 hours to 1:36 pm PST (21:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 173 km (107 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near La Quinta

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) south-southwest of La Quinta, CA, at 3:53 am PDT on 9 July 2016 (10:53 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: 22km SSW of La Quinta, CA

28 km (17 mi) SSW of Palm Desert, CA · 100 km (62 mi) NE of San Diego, CA

3:53 am PDT, Jul 9, 2016 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Quinta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 47 kmSan Diego County 61 kmImperial County 111 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
3:53 am PDT on 9 July 2016 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) south-southwest of La Quinta, CA · earthquakes near La Quinta
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 47 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, under 1 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 3775 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In La Quinta, 22 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: Anza, Vista Santa Rosa, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Borrego Springs, Rancho Mirage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 330,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 8km NNE of Ocotillo Wells, CA · 44 km SE 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 33.4905, -116.4238. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 47 km (29 mi) NE earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 111 km (69 mi) ESE earthquakes near Imperial County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  2. 1.9 5km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  3. 1.7 14km NNE of Borrego Springs, CA
  4. 1.9 5km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  5. 2.6 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  6. 2.0 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  7. 1.5 14km WSW of Salton City, CA
  8. 2.1 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  9. 1.9 5km NW of Palomar Observatory, CA
  10. 1.7 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  11. 1.5 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  12. 1.8 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  13. 2.7 10km S of Idyllwild, CA
  14. 1.6 3km WSW of Borrego Springs, CA
  15. 2.3 9km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, 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.