Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Indio, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Indio in the 24 hours to 7:10 pm PST (03:10 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 Indio
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east of Indio, CA, at 9:17 am PDT on 3 May 2017 (16:17 UTC), 7.5 km deep.
USGS: 28 km WNW of Desert Center, California
49 km (31 mi) E of Indio, CA · 140 km (87 mi) E of Moreno Valley, CA
- When
- 9:17 am PDT on 3 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) east of Indio, CA · earthquakes near Indio
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 28 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3466 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Indio, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Indio, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Indio, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 25 km N of this epicentre
- 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 37 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 37 km NW 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 33.7735, -115.7052. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 28 km (17 mi) | W | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Imperial County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 130 km (81 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 19km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 1.8 23km S of Twentynine Palms, CA
- 1.8 6km NNE of North Shore, CA
- 1.6 10km ENE of Indio, CA
- 2.2 20km NW of Desert Center, CA
- 2.0 9km NE of Indio, CA
- 1.6 26km NE of Indio, CA
- 2.6 6km NE of North Shore, CA
- 2.5 6km NE of North Shore, CA
- 1.5 8km N of North Shore, CA
- 1.5 12km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.7 15km ENE of Indio, CA
- 2.1 15km NE of Coachella, CA
- 2.3 12km NE of Coachella, CA
- 1.6 12km NE of Coachella, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.