QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Coachella, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Coachella in the 24 hours to 9:50 pm PST (05:50 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 167 km (104 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 Coachella

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) northeast of Coachella, CA, at 9:06 pm PDT on 6 June 2017 (04:06 UTC), 4.3 km deep.

USGS: 21km NE of Coachella, CA

24 km (15 mi) ENE of Indio, CA · 130 km (81 mi) E of Riverside, CA

9:06 pm PDT, Jun 6, 2017 · · 4.3 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Coachella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 8 kmImperial County 103 kmSan Diego County 113 kmSan Bernardino County 119 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
9:06 pm PDT on 6 June 2017 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) northeast of Coachella, CA · earthquakes near Coachella
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
4.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Riverside County, 8 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Coachella Fan Fault Zone, 15 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 3432 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 Coachella, 21 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: Thermal, Indio, Mecca, Bermuda Dunes, Vista Santa Rosa.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 35 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1948 Desert Hot Springs, California Earthquake · 38 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 38km ESE of Twentynine Palms, CA · 35 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 2km SSW of Joshua Tree, California · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 15 km SSE of Twentynine Palms, California · 22 km N 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 33.7980, -115.9907. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Riverside County
Imperial County, CA 103 km (64 mi) SE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 113 km (70 mi) SW earthquakes near San Diego County
San Bernardino County, CA 119 km (74 mi) N earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 10km NE of Indio, CA
  2. 2.1 31km SE of Twentynine Palms, CA
  3. 1.9 11km NE of Coachella, CA
  4. 1.7 18km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA
  5. 1.6 18km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA
  6. 1.6 18km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA
  7. 2.4 18km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA
  8. 1.6 18km S of Joshua Tree, CA
  9. 1.8 14km E of Desert Hot Springs, CA
  10. 1.7 18km N of North Shore, CA
  11. 1.6 18km S of Joshua Tree, CA
  12. 2.1 7km SE of Yucca Valley, CA
  13. 1.7 18km SSE of Joshua Tree, CA
  14. 3.3 18km S of Joshua Tree, CA
  15. 1.8 14km S of Joshua Tree, 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.