QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Salton City, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Salton City in the 24 hours to 2:51 pm PST (22:51 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 121 km (75 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 Salton City

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south of Salton City, CA, at 7:14 am PDT on 25 July 2016 (14:14 UTC), 3.9 km deep.

USGS: 14km S of Salton City, CA

7:14 am PDT, Jul 25, 2016 · · 3.9 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salton City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 60 kmRiverside County 62 kmSan Diego County 76 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
7:14 am PDT on 25 July 2016 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south of Salton City, CA · earthquakes near Salton City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
3.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Imperial County, 60 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 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 3761 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Salton City, 14 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: Desert Shores.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 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 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 28 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 12 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 21 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 17 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 The 1987 Elmore Ranch, California Earthquake · 20 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 33.1745, -115.9770. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 60 km (37 mi) ESE earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA 62 km (38 mi) N earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 76 km (47 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7km W of Calipatria, CA
  2. 1.8 7km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  3. 1.6 7km W of Calipatria, CA
  4. 1.5 7km W of Calipatria, CA
  5. 2.0 8km W of Calipatria, CA
  6. 2.5 7km W of Calipatria, CA
  7. 2.5 7km W of Calipatria, CA
  8. 2.2 8km W of Calipatria, CA
  9. 2.4 7km W of Calipatria, CA
  10. 1.5 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  11. 1.8 16km ENE of Pine Valley, CA
  12. 1.8 26km NW of Ocotillo, CA
  13. 1.8 14km N of Ocotillo Wells, CA
  14. 1.5 18km W of Imperial, CA
  15. 1.8 17km NNE 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.