QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Campo, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Campo in the 24 hours to 4:19 pm PST (00:19 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 122 km (76 mi) E, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Campo

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) east-northeast of Campo, CA, at 9:23 am PDT on 9 September 2016 (16:23 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 17km W of Ocotillo, CA

90 km (56 mi) E of San Diego, CA

9:23 am PDT, Sep 9, 2016 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Diego County 64 kmImperial County 82 kmRiverside County 109 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
9:23 am PDT on 9 September 2016 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) east-northeast of Campo, CA · earthquakes near Campo
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Diego County, 64 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, 9 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 3715 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Campo, 32 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 4.0 on 2016-07-31 — about 1,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 43 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 47 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 Eastern San Diego County, California · 50 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 8km ESE of Ocotillo, CA · 25 km ESE 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 32.7573, -116.1720. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Diego County, CA 64 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Imperial County, CA 82 km (51 mi) ENE earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA 109 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Riverside County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 26km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  2. 2.2 26km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  3. 1.5 10km W of Progreso, B.C., MX
  4. 1.6 27km SSW of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  5. 1.7 19km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  6. 1.7 17km W of Ocotillo, CA
  7. 1.7 20km ESE of Ocotillo, CA
  8. 2.5 9km ENE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  9. 1.6 11km NW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  10. 1.5 10km W of Progreso, B.C., MX
  11. 1.7 26km NW of Ocotillo, CA
  12. 1.5 11km NW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  13. 1.7 11km NW of Progreso, B.C., MX
  14. 1.7 26km NW of Ocotillo, CA
  15. 2.5 20km ESE of Ocotillo, 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.